


Von Verlust und Liebe

by Lady_Pyrien



Series: Von Verlust und Liebe [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-18
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2017-12-26 22:31:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 55,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/971048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Pyrien/pseuds/Lady_Pyrien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Strange dreams have always plagued Ludwig, a young knight in search of a job with his older brother. On one particular journey, he decides he needs to find the girl he keeps seeing. The one with honey eyes and copper hair. The one he promised his heart to. Instead, he finds himself helping what's left of a destroyed village find refuge. Among them, there is a young man strikingly familiar and eager to be his friend. GerIta - Kismet</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Iron Cross

Laughter filled the air as young Ludwig made his way through the trees. He'd just barely managed to escape punishment from his father for breaking his mother's old vase. He knew he'd eventually be forced to go home and take the whooping, but for now, he'd live freely as if he'd done nothing wrong. Their family, which consisted of just him, his mother and father and his remaining older brother (he had many, but only knew of a few. The others had gone off to corners of the world or had been lost to illness).

It was normal for northern mainlander families to have multiple children, in hopes of bearing strong sons to carry on the family name and continue working and hunting. Luckily, for the Beilschmidt family, Ludwig was too young to run off and Gilbert had no interest in anything but becoming strong for his father to be proud of him. Both boys had been forced south to Illonia when their father found work.

It wasn't what the boys wanted, but they did enjoy the slightly warmer winters. It seemed being closer to the southern seas meant different climates than what they were used to.

Since they had only arrived a few weeks before, Ludwig had not had much time to explore his new homeland. They lived close to a beautiful forest and both boys were itching to explore its contents. Ludwig smiled softly to himself with satisfaction, knowing he would get to be the first.

The trees were thick and tall, but the floor of the woods were covered in dead branches and thick bushes and brush. He frowned, wishing he had worn long pants rather than shorts. Too late now. He climbed over a fallen tree and tripped several times on his way through. Hopefully his father wouldn't think to follow, lest he get in more trouble for being here.

After an hour of mindless wandering, he frowned looking around. He felt lost and the noon sun was high above him. Thirst pulled at Ludwig's throat and he licked his dry lips. There was no moisture to console the aching, chapped lips and he sighed leaning against a tree. This had to be his worst idea. If he made it out of here, he swore he'd become a better child and get in less trouble and follow ALL the rules! He wouldn't break his mom's things; he'd eat everything on his plate and wouldn't give Aster the stuff he didn't want. Ludwig promised to take better care of Aster and walk the dog like he was supposed to. "Oh! I'll even clean up after myself perfectly!" he thought.

A light singing voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Draw a circle, that's the Earth. Draw a circle, that's the Earth. Draw a circle, that's the Earth. I am Illonian!"

Ludwig bit his lip and quickly pushed himself off the tree he was leaned against. If he was quiet, maybe he would be able to sneak up on the person that voice belonged to.

"All~ the world around us can be seen through the stroke of a single brush. And now~ we give a toast with our boots! Illo~ni~a!" he stumbled through the brush and onto a river bank. There was a young girl standing on the edge of the water, with her oddly short hair adorned with a flower ring.

Her mouth opened up and she began to sing her song again, "Hey, hey papa, could I have some wine? Hey, hey mama! Hey, hey mam-" she quickly turned and saw the blonde child before her. Her honey gold eyes widened and tears welled up.

"Who are you?" she whispered. Her hand came up to her chest and she started making her way to the edge of the trees.

"I'm not going to hurt you!" the young Beilschmidt called out. He was intrigued since this was the first person near his age he'd seen here. These Illonians were such odd creatures. Their skin was lightly tanned and their eyes were several colors he'd rarely seen up north, like her honey colored ones. And it seemed the girls didn't mind wearing their hair short. Of course, he couldn't blame her. Long hair must be truly uncomfortable in this kind of heat.

"Then what are you doing here? Oh my grandfather was right about me going out alone!" she started wailing.

Ludwig frowned and began to panic. How did you stop a little girl from crying like that? He walked over to her carefully and slowly and patted her back lightly.

"I'm sorry if I startled you … I just heard you singing and I'm lost and …" he didn't know what else to say, but she started giggling and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"You sound funny!" his eyes widened a little and his brows knitted together.

"That's because I'm from the north land of Gartyra …" she smiled again at the Gartyrarren.

"I've never met anyone from there! I did meet this one boy from Fayldyr before, but he moved back last summer!" her dress spun around her legs as she twirled in joy.

Ludwig sighed and waited for her to stop her rambling about her big brother Francis. The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about how nice the village was and how amazing pasta was. The young Beilschmidt didn't know what pasta was, but he figured he would try it one day, just for her.

Eventually, the sun began to set over the horizon and she led him home. He took to calling her Ita, because she'd yet to give him her name. The nickname didn't faze the girl either. She just returned the favor by calling him Horoem, which confused him greatly. Where did she even come up with such a ridiculous name?

The scene changes and now Ludwig is seven. A year spent in the small village in Illonia meant the two children had become best friends. Every chance the two got, they would spend running around the trees and river playing. During the spring, Ita would take him to pick flowers and see the bunnies, which were just now coming out to play. She would sit with him and teach him to paint and draw. They would talk about how he aspired to be a great warrior who could slay dragons and other mean creatures with his mighty blade.

Summer brought quiet naps under the shade of large trees and talking time. She would tell him of her brother and how mean he was, always stuffing dirt down her undergarments. Ludwig cringed just thinking about it.

Fall was like spring. They spent the season sitting by the river, talking and watching some of the trees shed their leaves. Winter brings cold, of course, and with that, the two spend very little time together. However, when they are together, it's usually on warmer, less windy days. They spend it walking through the town with a mug of hot cider or chocolate.

It's now two years passed his arrival to the village and fall is coming to an end. Nine year old Ludwig is sitting beside his mother while she patches Gilbert's torn pants, which were ripped while he was playing ball.

His mother leaned forward to grab a new piece of cloth from her basket when a small pendant fell from her dress. A small iron cross held close with a strong woven cord dangled helplessly from her neck.

"Mutti," which is what northern mainlanders called their mothers, "what is that thing around your neck?"

She set her sewing aside and grabbed the cross with a smile, "Oh my dear Ludwig, you will find out one day, but young men who fall in love make these for their intended brides, that is, the woman they wish to spend their lives with."

"So, if you love a girl … and you want to be with her forever … you make her one of those cross thingys?"

She tucked it away again, "Yes, my sweet child. When given to the girl, she can accept your offer and you then become wed … together forever …" her smile grew warm and she rested her hand on her breast. "One day, my child, you will meet that special girl … the one you never want to part from and you'll make her the happiest."

"As if!" the two turned to see the older albino child, "I'm pretty sure, West is not the kind of guy who would fall for a girl at all~" his voice and eyes said he knew something the other two did not.

"What do you know, brother?" Ludwig stood up and glared, "I will too find a girl to marry!" the blonde child stormed up to his room.

Gilbert's laughter followed the boy as well as his mother's voice chiding the silver haired boy.

Ludwig slammed the door behind him and tears came to his eyes thinking about Ita. Is this what love felt like? Knowing there was a girl who always wanted to see you, and who never grew bored of you? He closed his eyes and imagined everything they had been through. He was always there to comfort her when she tripped and even that embarrassing time she got into the water naked with him wasn't enough to tear them apart.

He shook his head of that time. She had cried after getting redressed, so he had to go comfort her. She never did it again.

Ludwig stepped over to his desk and opened it up to find some things he was going to need. Rather than spend the next few days with Ita, he was going to make something.

The Gartyrarren sneaked into his father workshop and dug through a pile of scrapped iron and found a good sized piece.

Several weeks, swollen fingers, cuts and burns later, Ludwig sat back against the wall. He was glad his father had shown him a few things about working the metal over and it had been terribly difficult and he had been ready to give up at any moment, but Ita was worth it. Ita was the person he wanted to marry more than anyone he would ever meet, he just knew it!

He looked over the matching crosses for any mistakes and tucked them in his pocket. The boy ran back to the house and slipped into his room, hoping no one had noticed he'd sneaked to the shop again.

Winter had set in days ago and Ludwig was being forced to wait to see Ita until a later day. He sighed and moved away from his window.

This winter had been the worst imaginable for the family. Ludwig knelt beside his mother's bed and clutched her hand tightly. She smiled at him with a worn and tired smile, "My sweet Ludwig, I'm sorry … sorry that I can't watch you grow up. You're already so big! And I'm so proud. I hope you make her happy."

He looked at his mother confused, but followed her line of sight to his pocket, which had the crosses he'd made sticking out. His face turned scarlet red, "It's not … I mean … she's just a …" he shook his head, "I love her. She's perfect and cute and even though she's an absolute mess sometimes, she's always there to listen …"

His mother laughed softly, "Take good care of her," she kissed his hand, "Now go get your father for me …"

Ludwig nodded and kissed her forehead, "Okay." little did he know, that was the last time he'd see his beloved mother alive. The burial was short and Ludwig's toes and fingers were frozen by the time they made it back inside. Gilbert sadly made his way to his room and their father disappeared, most likely going to drink himself into a stupor.

Sure enough, neither boy saw their father for weeks. Spring was trying to edge its way into the village, but the Beilschmidt family still felt cold. One pretty, warm day, Gilbert rushed into Ludwig's room, "West. Pack your things. You and I are heading back north."

"Why?" Ludwig sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes.

Gilbert sighed, "Just do it. We're leaving in about two hours so pack what you can." the albino closed the door and left Ludwig to panic.

"But Ita!" he rushed to throw some clothes and books into a bag before making sure he had the crosses in his pocket. He had to find her before it was too late. He already hadn't seen her in nearly three months.

The trip was quick, but it felt like an eternity. He could only hope she had not forgotten him and would be waiting there with a smile on her lips.

He came to the water's edge and his eyes searched frantically for her. She was not there, nor was there any sign of her being there. Tears pricked his eyes and he chewed his lip, wondering if he should write a note in the sand and leave the cross for her to find. He would explain that he would come back for her.

After locating a sharp stick, he began to scratch into the earth.

"Horoem?" his eyes widened and he'd never been so happy to hear that nickname.

"Ita!" he turned to see her. She'd grown an inch or two since he'd seen her last. The same pure white dress she'd always worn, hugged her tightly, showing that she would probably need to get a new one made for her, "I'm so happy to see you! I'm so sorry I haven't been around so much … I was busy and then winter and my mutti …"

She smiled, tears streaming down her face. The girl tackled Ludwig to the ground and hugged him tightly, "I thought you hated me …" she cried.

"Never!" he frowned, "I could never hate you!" he stood up and pulled out the crosses and slipped one over his head, "Mutti said you give these to someone special … like a promise you can never break. When a man cares about someone a lot, he's supposed to make this in hopes that they will one day get married and never have to be apart again." he frowned, "Ita, I have to go away for a while. I'm going back up north, but I promise I'll come back to you!" his face became red, "I love you …" he whispered, leaning his forehead to hers.

Tears streaked her face, "But … I don't want you to go! You can't leave me!" he muttered that he had to, but held up the necklace, "You'll wait for me, right?" she nodded vigorously at his question. Ludwig smiled happily and slipped the necklace over her head. He held onto the cord, lingering in the happy moment. Ita would forever be his! She picked up the cross and smiled, "I love you, too …"

He looked up and smiled happily, "Is this what being married is like?" he asked.

Ita shrugged, "I guess so, except one thing!" he looked at her confused, "You can now kiss the bride!"

Ludwig blushed a deep red again, but leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft, tentative kiss. He pulled away and she smiled.

"I'll be waiting for you! When you get back, I'll even make you some sweet treats and stuff!"

Ludwig nodded and tucked his necklace away, "I'll be back, I swear it!" tears streamed both of their faces as he ran back to meet his brother.

Ludwig shot up in his bed and groaned at his headache. This was the third time this month he'd had that strange dream about the girl. He gripped at his neck and found the necklace. The girl in his dream always received one from him.

"West! You awake?" Gilbert rolled over in his make shift blanket bed.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry if I woke you brother. I just had that dream again."

"Again?" Gilbert sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Ludwig nodded, "Something tells me she's real and not just a figment of my imagination. Every time the dream comes it gets more detailed. This time I saw the face of the woman, the one who tells me about the iron cross." the nineteen year old rubbed at his head, "Long blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a round face and a small birth mark beside her left eye."

Gilbert's eyes glazed over sadly, "West … that's our mother. You don't remember her, do you?"

The blonde growled lightly. All his memories were dated back to when he was thirteen and had woken in a medical home. Apparently he'd been injured badly in a fight against a Naga, a creature with the head of a human and the body of a snake. Such creatures could be very deadly, especially when they could shift between human form and that of any sized snake smaller than their body.

Gilbert tried to fill him in on missing memories, such as living in Illonia for a short time, where they lost their mother and father, but it had been for naught. Ludwig remembered nothing but his own name and the fighting skills he'd acquired. He'd accepted the fact that Gilbert was his brother, but still did not remember anything about him from before he'd awoken.

"West … you think …" he frowned, "You think maybe these are you memories coming back? I mean, the doctor said they might come back one day, right?"

"Why would it be the same handful of memories, though? It makes no sense, brother."

"She's real." Gilbert muttered.

Ludwig looked at him, "Our mother? I know." what had gotten into Gilbert.

"No … the little girl from you dreams. I never met her … but I overheard a conversation you had with mutti once. I think … I think you gave the other cross to the girl. Who knows, maybe if you find her, you'll get your memories back." the albino laughed heartily before settling back into his makeshift bed, "Anyway, we'll be passing the northern border of Illonia to-morrow, so you'd best get some sleep. We still have a long way to go before we reach Sverran."

Ludwig nodded, but a plan was soon forming in the fighter's head. What if Gilbert was right? What if he should return to the village, maybe see if she really did exist? He knew, based on traditions he'd learned, that a man only wore this cross when he was either married or had promised to marry, which meant someone had to have the matching piece. What better place to start than the village in his dream?

He relayed his plans to his brother as they walked the next morning.

"You sure about this West? I mean, I've heard a lot of dragons and naga have been springing up down there because the climate's getting warmer."

Ludwig nodded, "Yeah. I know I can handle myself."

Gilbert nodded, "Okay. I'll meet you in the Sverran capital. Just don't make me have to come save your ass, West." he pulled his little brother into a tight hug.

The blonde shoved him away and smiled softly, "I will be fine, brother." and with that the two parted ways.

Ludwig had made it to the edge of a town after a few weeks of traveling, and was licking his lips, staring as the visible heat rising off the ground. This looked familiar to him, so it must be it.

As he walked through, he noticed many people giving him strange looks. He had expected this. This was the typical treatment he and Gil got every time the entered a village. People seemed to always see his sword first before the man. He ignored the gaze and ran a finger through his slicked hair. The further into the village he walked, the worse it became. Houses and shops were either partially or completely burned down. Trash and debris lined the streets and even blocked some pathways. People were still hiding indoors, rarely willing to walk outside.

This was troubling. He hated that they were afraid to leave their own shops and homes. This was definitely not the same kind of people from his dream, but then again, dragons hadn't inhabited this area before.

"Ve~! Help me!" Ludwig had learned never to turn down a cry for help so he pulled his blade and ran toward the screaming voice, leaping over a pile of fallen trees, "Get away!" blue eyes fell upon a young man lying in the street waving a white flag rapidly. A naga stood before him.

"Jussst come with me and nothing bad will happen to you." the snake like creature hissed.

"Do you serve pasta?" he lowered the flag. Ludwig frowned. How stupidly dense could someone be? The snake would only tear him apart for her children or something.

"Yesss, we ssserve lotsss of passsta!" the snake grinned.

Ludwig glared and rushed over, stepping in front of the man. "Get out of here! She's lying to you!"

"You mean there's no pasta?" tears welled up in the corner of his eyes. Ludwig raised a brow and shook his head before returning his attention to the naga before him. The thing hissed angrily, obviously mad she wouldn't get her meal as easy.

"You are going to pay for that!" her face slowly changed from that of a human woman's into a large python's head. The snake reared back and launched its fanged face at him. Ludwig hated these creatures with a passion and had become his favorite to kill. His blade rose to the challenge and caught her in midair, slicing down her side. The now dead naga hit the ground and Ludwig moved quickly to slice her head off, just in case she wasn't actually dead.

"Ve~! My hero!" the man stood up and wrapped his arms tightly around Ludwig's neck, "That mean creature has been giving us a ton of trouble lately and you got rid of her!"

"Oh gods, Feliciano! Are you okay?" a woman with long light brown hair ran up, holding her dress up off of her legs so she could run raster to the man.

"I am now that he's here! He saved me from the naga, big sister!" she smiled warmly and pulled Feliciano into her arms.

"I was so worried that that thing would take you away and hurt you!" her piercing gaze felt on Ludwig and began scrutinizing him, "Thank you for saving my Feli."

"Um … no problem … it's what I do."

She tilted her head, "Your accent, you're from up north, right?"

The blonde Beilschmidt nodded, "Yeah, my brother and I lived there until recently."

The woman smiled, "My ex-husband is from the north, not as far as you, I'm sure, but still. I'm Elizaveta Hédévary." she said, holding out her hand.

Ludwig took it, still confused by the strange woman. She was strangely familiar. "I'm grateful that you saved my little Feli, why don't you come back to my ex-husband's house and we'll get you fed and cleaned up. The man nodded and followed them back to a rather large house. Part of it was broken and burned up, but had been boarded up to separate it from the rest of the house.

"I'm guessing there are dragon problems here?"

Elizaveta nodded, "Unfortunately, they came about in the last several years and started breeding. It has been terrible. And there's naga to the west and north, so we're all stuck here, really."

Feliciano bit his lip sadly and placed a hand on his chest, "Yeah … we're stuck here."

The woman placed a hand on his shoulder, "You're the first person in this village in a long time. Most people don't make it passed the naga defenses." Ludwig nodded, remembering a few hours ago, he'd cut through at least five before the rest would leave him alone to travel to the village.

"They were a handful." he growled, walking into the building behind Elizaveta and Feliciano.

"Roderich, dear, we have company." a man walked into the room and nodded lightly. He then turned and took his cup into a different room that suddenly filled with music.

"Ve~! I love this song!" the man ran off down the hall to go listen to it.

"Sorry about him, he's a very sweet and hyper young man. We saved him and his brother from a terrible fate. They were to be sold off when their grandfather died, but Roderich managed to buy them. We could only afford to keep Feliciano so his brother was sold to a wealthy family in the north." she got a little quiet, "However … the boy ran away before he made it to his destination and we haven't heard from him since. I haven't told Feliciano, so please … don't mention anything."

Ludwig nodded and frowned lightly. Just the thought of one person owning another angered him. He accepted her offer to let him wash his face and then join her in the study for a late lunch.

He slowly walked down the corridor and into a small room. There was a large basin filled with water and rose petals. The Beilschmidt washed his face and hands and dried off on the small hand towel. The house was truly lovely, with expensive looking decorations lining each corner and wall. Even the hall way was filled with crystal vases that looked like the money they could fetch would feed an army.

Elizaveta was sitting in the study humming softly to the music floating around the house, "I'm sorry if it seems Roderich is being rude, but when it comes time for his music, he can become a little disgruntled." she poured a small cup, "Try this. It's a rare drink imported from the deep forests of South Alverynia."

Ludwig picked up the cup and his eyes widened at the strong, but alluring scent that came off the cup.

"It's better with some milk and sugar," she stirred a little bit into her cup before taking a sip.

He followed suit and mixed a little of each into the cup before sipping at it. The drink was really unique, slightly bitter but good. It burned his tongue a little.

"Good, right?" he nodded and continued sipping at the drink. The flavor was strong. He personally preferred his brother's brew over this, but it would make do for now.

Elizaveta's eyes fixed themselves outside of the window, "Pardon if I'm not exactly … making good company … we've just been under terrible stress as of late …"

Ludwig nodded, "I've heard some things about this land becoming overridden with dragons and naga?"

She nodded and set her cup down, "It's much too dangerous to stay but far too dangerous to travel away. We're all doomed here." she smiled sadly, "I only want what's best for Feliciano. He's especially young to be dying like this."

The blond man nodded. Elizaveta gave him a room for the night and Ludwig collapsed on the bed, letting his exhaustion take over him. He just hoped tonight he was too tired to dream.


	2. Recognition

When he awoke the next morning he was face to face with the auburn haired man he'd saved the day before. Feliciano was sound asleep, lying in the bed.

"Ah! What the hell?" Ludwig leaped out of the bed, "What the hell are you doing in my bed?"

Feliciano woke up and rubbed his eyes, "Ve~? Oh! Sorry … I had a bad dream last night and found your room!" he laughed lightly resting his head on his knees.

"I don't care! Get out of here!" the Illonian threw the blanket off himself and took off crying and yelling, "Please don't hurt me!"

Ludwig only rolled his eyes and picked up his discarded clothes from the floor and smoothing them out of the bed. He made his way over to the dresser and poured water from the glass pitcher into the water basin. After cleaning his face and fixing his hair, he redressed and stepped out into the kitchen. Feliciano looked up from his plate of food and smiled lightly, probably already over the scare that morning.

"Hello!"

Ludwig waved back in response but quirked an eyebrow at a tiny little flaw in how Feliciano was dressed.

Elizaveta walked in and laughed, "Oh my! Feli, dear, you forgot your pants again!"

"Ve~?" the auburn haired Illonia looked down at his underwear and smiled, "I did! Didn't I?" he laughed and walked from the kitchen.

"Is he always like this?" Ludwig shook his head, looking down at the food Elizaveta placed before him.

The woman laughed lightly, "Yes, he is. He's a free spirit … who sometimes forgets his pants." she served her own plate, "I heard some commotion, is everything alright?"

He nodded, "Oh, um yes. I woke up and he was in my bed … I … don't suppose that's normal for him, is it?" the man bit into the food.

"Well, not really. He must really have taken a liking to you because he only does that when he's frightened and usually he comes to my bed, never a stranger's." she chuckled with a dark blush spreading over her cheeks, "Anyway, what are your plans now that you're here?"

It was Ludwig's turn to blush and shift uncomfortably in his seat, "Actually, I came for a … dream …"

"A dream?" her face was that of confusion.

"Yes, a dream I've had many times over the course of my life. It's a little shifty and I usually don't remember much, but I do remember this village and a young girl I was always with.

"We made a promise, in the dream, to be together one day. This is embarrassing," he muttered covering his face, "I honestly just came to see if she was real. If she is, then that means my dreams are just bits of memory I've lost trying to resurface."

"Sounds so romantic~!" she gushed, "You say you've lost your memory?" Elizaveta brought her glass to her lips and sipped.

"When I was younger, I had been training with my brother and got into a nasty fight, and was knocked unconscious. When I awoke, I was blank. I didn't know who I was, where I was, or even who my brother was. Few memories have come back, but I hold onto the few that do."

The woman smiled sadly, "I hope you find her and your memories."

He only nodded and continued eating. Feliciano came back in, sporting pants, and sat down to eat.

"Ve~ big sister Elizaveta, are we still going to the market today?"

Elizaveta nodded, "I still have to pick up a few things that I couldn't get yesterday. Ludwig, dear, would you like to join us? It might be nice to have a little protection while in town."

The Gartyrarren thought it over for a moment and sighed, "I will."

She clapped her hands together and smiled, "Wonderful~!"

After breakfast passed, she led them into the town square. Ludwig made sure to keep a close eye on the two, particularly Feliciano who radiated an aura of doom. The Gartyrarren figured the happy-go-lucky Illonian was always in need of protection. Even when they met, it seemed all he could do was get into trouble.

Feliciano followed closely behind Ludwig, worriedly looking around and jumping at every startling noise.

"Ve!" the Illonian latched onto Ludwig's arm, tears appearing in the corner of his eyes, "The streets are scary quiet!"

"Quiet is good, you know? Not everything has to be loud and annoying." Ludwig hoped he would catch his drift, but unfortunately for him, it flew over Feliciano's head.

"Ve~?" he tilted his head in confusion and Ludwig shook his head, wanting to just drop it. It was probably better that way. Feliciano seemed like a very sensitive person.

Elizaveta stopped in a store, but Feliciano's attention seemed focused on something else completely. He 've'd' and took off down the street towards a different shop.

"Damn it!" Ludwig growled and chased after him. The silence of the city was stranger than before. There was a light breeze, slightly warm and calming, yet Ludwig couldn't help but feel the unsettling chill in the air.

He finally caught up with Feliciano, who had slipped inside the shop and was looking at the sweets collection. Ludwig frowned and opened the door.

"-home, Feliciano. I fear for today … All of us do." the shop owner looked up and frowned, warily, "I've not seen you around … where you from?" her voice was sharp and angry, much different from the way she spoke with Feliciano.

"I'm from up north, just come looking for someone, that's all." Ludwig spoke softly, carefully walking over to Feliciano.

"Well, I'm sure you'll do fine without Feli, now please leave."

"I came here with him. Come on. Elizaveta is waiting for us." he held out his hand to Feliciano, but the woman grabbed Feliciano's arm.

"Do you know him?"

Feliciano nodded and smiled, "Yeah! He saved my life!" he pulled away from the woman and ran over to Ludwig, "Where's big sister Elizaveta at?"

Ludwig frowned, "Outside."

The two of them made their way into the streets, where Elizaveta was talking to a shop owner at their door. The shop owner looked up and frowned seeing Ludwig, the stranger.

Elizaveta frowned lightly, "I'm sorry, Ludwig dear, it seems the people are being superstitious of a stranger in the village. As I've said before, we don't get any around here at all. They're afraid of the man strong enough to slip passed the naga surrounding this place."

Ludwig nodded, "I'm used to it. I had passed through a few villages before this one … all the same …"

She smiled, "Well, you can't blame us … we have heard rumors of refugee camps for Illonians in Sverran, but as I've said before, we can't leave and the Sverran troops completely overlooked our small village."

The Gartyrarren thought over what she said, but his thought process was cut short by an angry roar. He knew that sound well and looked up to see an adolescent dragon landing in the square. It bared its teeth angrily and let out another low growl.

No one was in the streets so the dragon was being denied a meal … that is … until it spotted the three standing just off to the side of the street. The huge lizard bared its teeth at them and began its movement towards them.

Feliciano yelped in fear and jumped behind Ludwig, clutching onto his shirt tightly, "Ve~! Save me!"

Ludwig growled and drew his sword, preparing for the battle ahead of him. It wouldn't be as easy as usual since Gilbert was not beside him. However, this dragon was young enough to be taken out quickly and efficiently by Ludwig alone.

It took a step forward and Ludwig challenged it, causing the dragon to rear back. The Gartyrarren pushed Feliciano into Elizaveta's arms, "Get under cover!"

She nodded and dragged Feliciano away from the battle, just as the dragon let loose a torrent of its fiery breath. Ludwig rolled away from the jet of flame and dodged a swing from its tail. The tail hit a building and people inside began screaming in fear.

The dragon's attention went straight to the building and Ludwig took the advantage he'd been given to rush his blade into the dragon's ribs. The monster let loose a loud, pained cry.

The Gartyrarren knight was proud to know a secret to fighting them. His blade, which he had forged by an elven tribe near his home, was built to pierce the hard scales of dragons and naga alike.

He jumped back, avoiding the blood that could kill him alone and jumped over the swinging tail, before slicing into the dragon again. The thing hissed in pain and in a last form of defense shot jets of fire in all directions. Ludwig grinned in triumph and grabbed a fire retardant cloth to clean his blade of the scalding blood. The sword was tucked back into its sheath and he was tackled to the ground.

"Ve~! You were amazing Luddy!"

"Luddy?" Ludwig glared, "What the … get off of me!" he pushed Feliciano up and dusted his pants of the dust. People slowly began to pour into the streets to look upon the fallen dragon. Then their eyes rose to Ludwig.

"Sir Knight … how can we repay you …?" an old man asked, walking up to Ludwig.

Ludwig frowned, "Oh, no need to worry about payment or anything … I'm just passing through."

The old man smiled warmly, "But we must pay you for your services for us!"

The knight sighed. They obviously were going to give him something for slaying the dragon, whether he liked it or not. He thought for a moment. Obviously, these people were going to be weighing heavily on his mind while he searched for 'Ita' and he'd rather not be guilty about letting anyone die when he had a chance to help them, "Fine. If you really want to pay me back, you'll let me escort you to a refugee camp in Sverran. I'll take care of dragons and naga, you keep together and find a safe place. Sverran troops have actually been cleaning out Illonia for some time now, but I'm afraid this village may not last until they come this way." he frowned, knowing he'd just have to come back in search of his fiancée … if such a person even existed.

He received stares from everyone and the man smiled, joy in his eyes, "You would do that for us?"

Ludwig nodded, "It's my duty as a knight of Gartyra to make sure no man, woman, or child is injured or killed when I have the power to save them. I ask for nothing in return for this deed, only that you take this seriously and remain out of danger as much as possible while we head that way." he crossed his arms, "Pack lightly, only very important things. My brother is already in Sverran waiting for me at the capitol, which is where we'll head."

The man turned to the people, "Spread the word, we're finally getting out of here!"

Feliciano smiled brightly, "I don't want to go to Sverran, though … I want to go north where big brother is~!"

Elizaveta bit her lip, "After we get safe, I'll take you to see your brother, okay?"

Feliciano frowned, but nodded, "Okay, big sister …"

Ludwig raised his brow and as Feliciano skipped forward, he stepped beside Elizaveta, "You said his brother was gone."

"He is … every time Feliciano has asked to go visit, I have to make up an excuse …" she sighed, "The naga have been my excuse for a little while now, but with us being able to leave Illonia … I'm not so sure I'll be able to stop him from going north to find a brother who in all likelihood is dead. The man who bought him lost him in the middle of nowhere and the area is surrounded by demonic little creature that would have ripped the boy apart …" she had tears spilling onto her cheeks and her voice became a whisper.

"I can't tell Feliciano that. It would destroy him. His brother is the only family he has … or had …

"I blame myself … I should have worked with him more … helped him learn better … but Roderich grew tired of him and sold him." Ludwig frowned.

"You're wrong … he should know that his brother is dead." Ludwig sighed, "He will find out when he goes north that his brother never made it there, anyway."

Elizaveta glared lightly at Ludwig, "If you think it's so easy, you tell him. But don't come crying to me when you watch his world shatter around him. If that happens, I will beat the hell out of you with my skillet and it will not be pretty."

The Gartyrarren rolled his eyes. It wasn't his job to tell Feliciano anything like that, but if she continued to refuse, then he would.

The rest of the walk was silent, minus the happy chatter coming from the seventeen year old Illonian.

Back at the house, Feliciano packed his bag quickly and happily. He couldn't believe they were finally going to leave Illonia! He would miss it. It was his home. But it was too dangerous now and he wanted to see his brother!

He smiled again and picked up the small painting he kept on his bedside table of him and Lovino. They were really young in the painting and it was honestly not as good as it could be (since he'd painted it himself one night when he was six). He held it close for a minute and tucked it away inside the bag. He couldn't wait to see Lovi~!

When he finished packing he flung the bag over his shoulder to find Luddy. The blonde man was sitting in the den, reading over a book. There were words he didn't understand in it and he smiled to himself, "Luddy? Ve~"

"Feliciano?" the man looked up.

Feliciano froze. He hadn't seen such beautiful blue eyes in such a very long time. Since before his grandfather died. He found himself lost in his memories and his hand reached up to his chest, pressing the cold metal to his skin.

"Um … are you okay, Feliciano?" Ludwig shook Feliciano from his daydreaming and Feliciano looked at him.

"Oh … uh … yeah! Sorry, I was just wanting to know when we would be leaving~!"

The knight nodded, "Yes, I suppose here in a little bit everyone should be ready and we'll head out. I'd like to get as far away from this village as possible before we set up a camp."

Feliciano smiled again and sat down, "That's good~! Do we have to go to Sverran?"

Ludwig gave him an odd look, "Why do you ask?"

"Everyone I've ever loved went to the north~ I want to go to find them~" he laughed.

The knight bit his lip, "Feliciano … there's something you should know …"

"Ve~? What's that, Luddy?" their eyes met and Ludwig frowned. There was too much innocence in them. So much life and happiness love and joy … so little pain and suffering. Unlike Ludwig's eyes. He knew his were almost empty pools of blue. And what little that was there was pain and hardship. He had spent what six years he remembered devoted to training and knighthood.

The only hope of making him full again was locked away in his memory and the key was missing its matching half.

He sighed, "Never mind. I'll tell you another time."

Feliciano smiled and nodded, "Okay, Luddy~!"

Roderich was … familiar … just like Elizaveta … he hadn't noticed it the day before when he'd caught a glimpse of him, but now … there was something about the man.

"Ludwig? Ludwig Beilschmidt?" the man looked at him.

"I know you?" he knew he was familiar, but he still couldn't place from where he knew him. It was most likely from before his memory loss.

"Wait! Beilschmidt?" Elizaveta looked at Ludwig, "Oh! Ludwig! Is that really you? It's been so long! At least ten or eleven years!" she ran over and hugged the confused man, "I knew you looked familiar, but I never thought I would see you again!"

Roderich stepped forward, "How is that ass brother of yours?"

"I'm terribly sorry … but … I don't know either of you …" Ludwig frowned.

Elizaveta stepped back, "Oh! I'm so sorry … you just look a lot like a boy I used to live with when I was younger … his name was Ludwig Beilschmidt too."

"Yes, he was a cousin of mine." Roderich stated, "He had an ass brother named Gilbert."

Ludwig felt a headache coursing through his head as images of a young 'boy' that lived with him when he was younger and a young rich boy.

He clutched his head and stumbled back.

"Ludwig?"

The man slid down a wall to the ground. He felt Elizaveta's hand on his shoulder, "Ludwig, are you going to be okay?"

"No … I'm not … I don't know who you are because I can't remember …" her eyes widened.

"That's right … you did say something about that …" she smiled sadly, "You really are little Ludwig …"

His head throbbed in pain as images that made little sense came to him, but slowly faded again. Elizaveta grinned, "Wait … you're Ludwig Beilschmidt … and … that means you lived here once … you said so yourself … oh!" her eyes darted to Feliciano, whom was kneeling worriedly in front of Ludwig, "Oh!" she squealed and stood up, confusing Ludwig.

"Ve~ don't mind big sister … she's usually like this~" Feliciano laughed and stood up. Ludwig was still confused as Elizaveta covered her face as it lit up red.

He sighed, wondering if it was still a good idea to travel with these people to Sverran.


	3. Unexpected Snowstorm

Elizaveta refused to talk to Ludwig or Feliciano at all, only blushing and smiling, as they gathered the townspeople in the market to head out. Ludwig was surprised to find that there weren't many more people than he's seen earlier. Maybe thirty total, if you counted the few children he saw.

He cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the men and women from the village, "I have a few rules before we head out. It will take about a week to get to the first few refugee camps in Sverran. I will be continuing on to the capital and will still escort those wishing to go that far. However, you must stick together as this group. There is safety in numbers and I'm not going to abandon the larger group to save you if you happen to get in trouble.

"If I give an order, you must follow it. It will be for the safety of every one. Those of you who are decent hunters will need to help gather food along the way, but don't get separated or lost.

"If you spot anything dangerous. Stay away and find me immediately. That's all. These are for your safety and you should respect them and follow them. Like I said: it's one week until the first camp."

And with that they were off. He led the way and luckily the naga knew better than to take him on again. However, that wouldn't always be the case. The further they got away from the village, the far worse things were going to get.

Ludwig spent the next hour pushing up north, avoiding some of the spots he'd had trouble with on his way in. He wiped sweat from his brow and looked on the path ahead of him. The burned villages and destroyed towns he had passed coming in were still littering the horizon. He frowned sadly, wondering if his supposed fiancée was even alive still. Was she safe? Was she still somewhere else in danger?

His eyes turned to the Illonian village following him to safety. Would it be too late if he saved them and went back for her? He shook away the thoughts and the memories of the little girl in a white dress and pushed on.

The peace didn't last, as expected. On the edges of the little forest they were passing, there were four huge naga, ready to pounce their prey. Ludwig drew his blade and made a hand motion to another man to warn the rest of the group.

Women and children … and Feliciano … huddled together with a few men to protect them as Ludwig led a group of farm hands and other able bodied fighters against the snake creatures slithering at them. He raised his blade and brought it down.

It clashed with a sharp weapon the naga was using as his defense. Sparks flew and Ludwig growled, swinging lower. The naga had very little time to react as the blade sliced through her underbelly. She fell and he turned to help out with one that had slipped passed the fighting group. He fell that one as well and turned back to the rest of the fighting men to see they had succeeded at killing them as well. Blood stained the ground and Ludwig sighed in both relief and fear.

This had only been the tip of the iceberg. He knew well that most of the main roads were crawling with things like them and one would not survive traveling that way for long. There had to be a better way to get to Sverran. The quickest way was obviously the worst possible choice. Ludwig waited as the rest of the group made sure everyone was accounted for and fine, while he searched the terrain for an answer.

His eyes landed on the northern mountain range. It was a two day walk through the thick woods, but it was far enough off the beaten path that the worst they would have to deal with were possibly wolves and possibly cockatrices.

"We're heading that way." he stated, earning surprised looks from the grouped people.

One man stepped forward, "What do you mean?"

Ludwig pointed to the road ahead of them, towards the scattered bodies of the few naga. "Those are on this road because they knew people like us are trying to reach Sverran where the king has a barrier up to protect his kingdom. They want meals and those meals are trying to escape.

"Logically, if we want to get out of here with as many, hopefully all, of us as possible, we must stray from the path they expect us to take. There will be dangers up toward the mountain range as well, but I know of the perfect path to take to get us through there and around to Sverran as possible."

Feliciano 've'd' and ran up to Ludwig, smile on his face, "I trust you!"

Ludwig frowned slightly, "As I said before, if you want me to do this for you, you must listen precisely to what I say." he began walking into the trees, his boots tromping down upon the tall grass. Hesitantly, the group followed him into the woods. The air was cool already, but as they headed up the small, barely used mountain trails, the air steadily grew colder and colder.

Extra clothing was added to the people who needed it. It was already bad enough that it was barely the beginning of spring without them ascending higher where it was getting colder. Ludwig was used to colder weather, so this didn't bother him as much as it seemed to bother the Illonians.

As the sun began setting over the western part of the mountain range, Ludwig decided it was time to finally set up camp.

"I'll take first watch." he explained to a few others of the fighting men, "Then I will wake one of you and the process will continue until sunrise, not a moment later."

The men agreed and lay down to sleep. Ludwig leaned against a tree and looked out to the small sea of people who were settling down to sleep. Elizaveta laid out a small blanket and motioned for Feliciano to join her, but Feliciano smiled, whispered something to her and ran over to Ludwig.

"Ve … come sleep next to us?" he asked, his gold eyes lighting up with hope.

Ludwig frowned, "I'm taking first watch, Feliciano."

He saw the confusion in the Illonian's eyes, "Oh … um …"

"It means I'm protecting you all while you sleep." he explained, turning away from the young man to actually do his job.

"Then I'll take watch with you~!" he smiled.

Ludwig sighed and nodded, deciding to give in quickly. Silence fell over them for a few moments as the sun completely disappeared over the mountains. The Gartyrarren man allowed himself to sit down at the base of the tree. Feliciano sat down as well, taking the time to look up at the stars, partially blocked by clouds.

"Luddy, do you think I'll ever see my brother again?"

The blonde frowned lightly, "I don't really know. And Luddy?"

Feliciano smiled, "You're my friend now and friends call each other nicknames~ you can call me Feli like everyone else does!" he smiled brightly, rolling his head to the side to look at Ludwig.

"Friends?" a light blush crept into his cheeks and he smiled lightly, "I've never had friends before." it was true. All he'd ever had was his brother and his sword and the images of a forgotten Illonian girl in his dreams.

"You've never had friends before?" the auburn haired man frowned, "How is that even possible? Everyone has at least one friend!"

"Well I didn't." Ludwig looked away, towards the sleeping camp.

Feliciano laid his head on Ludwig's shoulder and closed his eyes, "Now you do, and we'll be best friends forever!"

Ludwig looked at the young man like he was insane, but softly smiled. Even if he was a little stupid, or silly, or downright a doom magnet, he was still sweet in the heart.

He looked at the Illonian, who was dozing on his shoulder and silently wondered if his fiancée was anything like this Illonian. Ludwig frowned. If she was, he feared that he would be too stiff for her. However … if she was anything like Feliciano, she was surely a good person who would love to befriend him for heavens know why.

Morning came, after a long, rough night and Ludwig sleepily led the group further up the mountain trail, happy they had yet to run into anything bad. Hopefully, he had chosen a good path and they would not have to deal with such things.

Ludwig felt a vein popping on the back of his neck when Feliciano decided that instead of traveling beside Elizaveta and Roderich, he would tag along at the front of the group with his new best friend. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at keeping up.

"Slow down some, Luddy! Ve …" he gasped, trying to keep up with Ludwig's brisk pace.

The man turned and glared, "Catch up! You need to learn to walk faster!"

Feliciano pouted and finally picked up his pace, but it just wasn't fast enough. Ludwig sighed and slowed down a bit for him, "You're going to have to learn sooner or later."

"Later is fine with me~" Feliciano smiled brightly, locking his arm with Ludwig's. The blonde blushed lightly, but ignored it for the time being.

Days passed. With the exception of the occasional wolf or naga, the path had been a proper clear one.

There was only one small, reoccurring problem: the snow. The Illonians seemed unused to the thick blankets of snow that piled up high on the mountain tops. The winds were below freezing and the air was thin. People were getting sick quickly and Ludwig knew they were running low on time.

In was barely noon when the storm hit. Ludwig found there was nothing he could do when the winds picked up and no one could see a thing in front of them. Luckily, the man found a cave and forced everyone inside. They huddled together for warmth and Ludwig sighed. There was nothing they could do until the storm stopped.

"Feli?" he heard Elizaveta mutter. He turned his blue eyes to the woman wandering around the group, "Has anyone seen Feli?" her voice was becoming more frantic as a chorus of 'nos' rang out from every one she asked. Ludwig frowned and without thinking, he grabbed up his pack and ran back out into the ice storm.

The blizzard like snow storm raged around him as he backtracked the way they had come for any sign of Feliciano. Why hadn't anyone noticed the young man's disappearance? He silently cursed that he, too, had not noticed his tag-a-long clutching tightly to his arm anymore.

He shielded his eyes and looked around the snow covered trees and rocks for something, anything, that would tell him where Feliciano had gone off to. Luckily, the man spotted a torn piece of blue fabric on a nearby tree, the same fabric that Feliciano's jacket was made of. He snatched up the piece of cloth and ran down the slightly steep slope to where he saw a partially snow covered lump.

Ludwig dropped to his knees and rolled the lump over. Feliciano was unconscious. His lashes were frozen and lined with snow and his lips were turning blue.

The Gartyrarren picked him up and began dragging him through the thick snow and impossible to see through storm. He groaned as Feliciano's dead weight was becoming too much. He dropped to his knees again and turned to the Illonian.

"Feliciano! Wake up!" he pleaded. If he could just get him to wake up, maybe he could encourage him to walk back to the cave, but no such luck. There had to be another way for them to get to safety. With the winds blowing as hard as they were, he could never carry Feliciano all the way back to the save, nor would they survive out in the open like this.

He growled to himself and picked Feliciano back up, continuing his trek through the thick snow. Ludwig didn't make it far before he collapsed again. His head was hurting and he couldn't feel his toes or fingers anymore. How long had he been out in the storm? Was there any hope now?

His eyes scanned the entirely white terrain and he frowned seeing something unusual. A mountain goat was bleating from a small opening in the snow. It was a long shot, but he had to at least get them to some sort of safety. His fingers dug into the fabric of Feliciano's coat and he dragged him through the snow, startling the mountain goat, who took off into the distance.

Ludwig pulled Feliciano into the opening to find it was a small cave, perfect for three of four people. He silently thanked the heavens for the good luck and set Feliciano up against the wall while he pulled his pack off of his back. With trembling, numb fingers, the man managed to undo the straps and pull out a thick blanket. He grabbed something small to eat and threw the blanket over him and Feliciano, hoping the younger of the two survived the night.

He carefully ate up the food and watched as the entrance to the small cave was filled up with snow.

Ludwig must have sat against the wall for only a few minutes, sleepily trying to keep himself awake. He was far warmer than he was when they first made it into the cave, his fingers, toes and face could all be felt, but he was worried that Feliciano still felt cold against his leg.

In his studies of survival, he learned that freezing people were supposed to survive off of body heat. He licked his lips, blushing and laid down on the ground next to Feliciano and pulled him close, tightly wrapping his arms around the smaller frame.

In the dim light, Ludwig made note that Feliciano's lips were no longer blue, but slowly returning to their former peachy color. His cheeks were still colorless and he looked as though he might be dead. Ludwig frowned and placed his lips to Feliciano's neck in search of his pulse. It was faint against his lips, but it was there.

He sighed in relief and closed his eyes, hoping that the night would end quickly.

Ludwig awoke hours later, still holding tightly to the Illonian. His head throbbed and he felt a cold wind at his back. He made to move away from Feliciano, but the Illonian mumbled in his sleep and clutched Ludwig's coat.

His golden eyes fluttered open and as he slowly came to, his eyes widened in shock and he blushed a dark red, "Luddy?"

Ludwig blushed, too, from embarrassment and sat up, "Do you have any idea the trouble I went through to find you?" he muttered, "I cannot believe you would carelessly run off like that!" he shouted, returning to his native tongue.

"I'm sorry …" Feliciano muttered, also in Gartyrarren, "I closed my eyes for a moment because some snow got in my eyes, but I stumbled into a tree and slipped … I must have hit my head …" he reached up to feel the back of his head where a large blood crusted spot was. Ludwig frowned, feeling a bit guilty for yelling.

He decided to change the subject, "You speak Gartyrarren?"

Feliciano seemed to brighten up, "Of course! Roddy speaks it, so I picked a little bit up from him, but I made sure to learn it for …" he trailed off, looking slightly saddened, "And then of course when I go to visit my brother, the family he's living with speak it too! Ve … I need to know it!"

Ludwig smiled, but something nagged him about what made Feliciano so sad. He shook his head and leaned back against the cave wall, "That's good. Not many southerners know it because they consider our villages and lands to be barbaric for not electing kings or however that stuff is done."

Feliciano nodded, pretending to know what Ludwig was talking about. He subconsciously curled up into the man's lap, seeking heat from the cold.

The blonde let his hand rest on Feliciano's head, "So tell me more about this brother of yours."

"Ve~?" liquid gold eyes lit up as he began telling long anecdotes about his older brother and how nice and sweet and caring he was and about how mean he could be and all the little stories he would tell his younger brother about their mother, that he barely remembered himself.

He spoke joyously until he fell asleep again sometime later. Ludwig smiled softly and let his own eyes slip closed.

When they awoke again later, the storm had completely stopped and the sun was high up in the sky. Ludwig frowned at the waste of time. He pulled his supplies back into the bag and led Feliciano back up the slope to their trail. In a matter of minutes he found the group, still in the cave waiting.

Elizaveta jumped up and took both men into her arms, "Oh thank god!" she cried, "I thought we lost both of you!"

Feliciano apologized for making her worry and even Roderich joined in the little love fest. Soon after, they began to work out a new plan.

"These storms seem to come whenever, without warning," Ludwig frowned, "We can't just hope we'll come across a cave whenever it suits us best, and it seems to be dangerous to travel at all in those storms." he looked up at Feliciano with slight guilt as Elizaveta re-wrapped the bandages around his head.

"Well, we can't just stay here, either." a man spoke up.

"Besides, we're low on food and we have too many sick to stay much longer."

Ludwig nodded, "I know." he sighed, "We need to send a message ahead. Maybe letting them know we're on our way. That way, if we don't show up soon, they will know we're at least out here. They may even send help our way."

He grabbed some parchment and a quill and wrote a small note:

Whomever receives this,

I've found a few Illonians wishing for sanctuary from naga. We are on our way, however a sudden ice storm has delayed us.

Ludwig.

He rolled it up tightly and tied it off, "Now we get it to the camp."

One man offered up his pet bird, which could easily be used to send messages, "Good." he muttered, sending it off.

"We should probably cover as much ground as possible before another storm hits." Ludwig sighed, making sure everyone was packed up.


	4. Reunion

They received no messages back, though the bird did come back, but it didn't matter. A week had passed and they were finally on the edges of the Illonian refugee camp. Illonians were everywhere, enjoying life in the warming air of Sverran. They bartered with each other for goods and ate and danced. Feliciano smiled brightly.

He looked up at Ludwig and a blushed crept into his cheeks. Ever since that night in the small cave, he couldn't bring himself to think of anything but the Gartyrarren man. Ludwig had gone into a storm to save him! It also was confusing since he still loved Horoem … his hand flew to the cold metal chain and pendant beneath his shirt. It felt heavy on him.

Feliciano sighed. The group began splitting up, but Elizaveta and Roderich made plans to meet back up with Feliciano and Ludwig by the end of the day in the spot they were in.

Ludwig looked around and sighed, his stomach grumbling lightly, "Stay in this spot, right here. I'm going to go find us something to eat. Then we'll look around a bit, okay?"

Feliciano blushed again and nodded, "Anything or you, Luddy!" he saluted his friend and rolled back on his feet and sighed. It was rather boring just waiting for Ludwig to come back. He looked around and saw so many people it brought a smile to his face.

"Mama!" he heard a small voice beside him, then small hands gripped his pants. He looked down to see a small child, a little boy. The boy had auburn hair, a small curl jutting out to his left and bright hazel eyes.

"Mama!" the child shouted again, before adding something in a language he didn't understand. Feliciano looked around, maybe to find the boy's real mother, but everyone walked right passed him. He frowned.

"I'll take you to your mama, okay?" he picked up the toddler and smiled gently as the child laid his head down on Feli's shoulder. Feliciano noticed he child was wearing soft, expensive looking clothing and wore a small golden circlet around his forehead.

He smiled and looked around again. A loud piercing cry startled the Illonian as a large, beautiful bird landed in front of Feliciano on a rack holding clothing. Its black eyes narrowed and scrutinized Feliciano.

"Ariana!" the little boy called out happily, clapping his hand together.

The bird, Ariana, let out another cry and took to the air, lowly. Feliciano bit his lip, "Are you trying to lead me somewhere?"

She answered with a soft squawk and he smiled following her through the tents and other things.

Confusion only settled in when people bowed their heads to him and mumbled things about his majesty and all that, but he shrugged it off.

"Mama …" the little boy muttered again, adding more words in his other language.

Feliciano became confused, "I'm sorry. I'm not your mama …"

Ariana finally stopped at a large tent and she landed in front of it, slowly walking inside. Feliciano frowned, but walked inside as well, getting a good look at the brightly colored blankets that covered a bed and a small crib in front of that. A man sat at a desk like table in the back, mumbling over his work. He growled and tensed when Feliciano entered the room and he slammed his fist onto the table before standing up.

"Mama!" the little boy shouted.

The man turned and Feliciano found himself at a loss for words. The man had the same bright hazel eyes as the child, his hair a dark auburn, only covered slightly by a golden hat thing. A curl twisted from his right side and he stared in shock back.

"Feli?" he whispered.

Tears sprung up in Feliciano's eyes and he set the child down, "Lovi!" he wrapped his arms around his brother in a tight embrace. "I missed you!" he spoke in Illonian.

"Ve~! The pretty bird led me here when the little guy called me mama and grabbed my leg~!" he looked down at the small toddler, who looked really confused.

Lovino smiled and picked him up, letting the little arms lock around his neck, "His name is Tristán."

Feliciano tilted his head, "Ve … so … he's your baby?"

Lovino nodded and bounced Tristán, "Say hi to your uncle Feli …" the toddler buried his face and smiled shyly. Lovino laughed and motioned to the bed, "Sit. We need to talk."

The Illonian squeaked and jumped onto the bed, wondering what his brother wanted to talk about. "Ve~! So soft! You must be royalty here! Look! You're even wearing jewels and a pretty necklace~!" he laughed, feeling the soft blankets and sheets beneath him. He looked up at his older brother, whom was glaring, gripping the choker defensively.

"It's a wedding symbol in Sverran!" he growled.

Feliciano smiled brightly, "You're married?" he couldn't believe it! His brother was happy and married with children.

Lovino nodded, "How else would I have had children?"

Feliciano nodded, "That's right … I kind of hoped I'd be married before you, but I'm so happy for you brother … but … I thought you were up north … ve … big sister Elizaveta said you were …" he muttered sadly.

The older man froze, "I ran away. The very same day he took me. We stopped in Sverran and I took the first chance I could and ran."

Feliciano felt both sadness and anger building up, "You didn't write me!"

Lovino looked slightly guilty and looked down at Tristán, "I couldn't. At first I thought I was going to die, but then I was saved. The bastard who saved me made me his personal servant and by the time he was able to send a message out to you, Illonia had been overrun … I thought you were dead …"

Feliciano smiled, "Almost was! But Luddy saved me and then he saved the whole village! He led us up around a semi safe path and we managed to find our way here~! When we're done here, me and Luddy and maybe Ellie and Roddy are going to the capital to meet with Luddy's brother and Roddy wants to meet with the king and queen. You know your little hat reminds me of a princess crown from those fairy tale books Ellie used to read us! Remember?"

Lovino blinked and laughed, "You're going to meet with the king and queen, huh?" Feliciano nodded happily.

Feliciano nodded and began speaking about his journey and how he'd been saved and when he and Ludwig shared the cave during the ice storm.

The Illonian man was startled out of his storm when another man came bursting into the tent. His face was streaked with tears and he looked down at the young boy playing in Lovino's lap with the golden thing.

Lovino shot the man a glare, "This is that bastard I told you about. The one who made me his personal servant."

Feliciano looked up and met shocked green eyes, "Ve~! You saved my brother?"

The man looked at Lovino and then back to Feliciano before looking at Lovino, "This is your brother? You found him?" Lovino smiled lightly and nodded. The man smiled brightly, setting the little girl that was in his arms down on the bed and, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Feliciano. Lovi had told me so much about you~!"

Lovino hit him in the shoulder, which caused the older man to wince and whine, "Lovi~! What was that for?"

Feliciano laughed lightly, looking at his brother blush and turn away, but he was overcome with shock when the man leaned forward and pressed his lips to his brother's in a soft, passionate kiss. The young man's face lit up bright red and he turned away, occupying himself with a stuffed toy on the ground.

"Bastard! You lost Tristán!" Feliciano turned back to his brother and the man.

"I'm sorry, Lovi! I set him down to shift Romana better, but when I turned to grab him, he was gone. I searched everywhere … but couldn't find him …"

Feliciano was slightly confused and looked at Lovino, "Ve … Lovi … who is this man … you said he was the one who saved you but …" his face felt warm.

The man turned his bright emerald eyes to Feliciano and smiled, "I'm his husband~!"

Feliciano ve'd and jumped up happily to meet his new brother-in-law properly, "So nice to meet you, big brother … uh …"

"Antonio, but you can call me Toni~"

"Big brother Tonio~!"

Tristán began to fuss and Lovino jumped up to take the twins to a spot where he could feed them. He grabbed a fork and began feeding them.

"Ve~! Lovi is such a good mama!" Feliciano smiled, slightly jealous of his brother. Lovino looked so happy with the children in front of him. A pang went through Feliciano's heart as he thought about having a family with a loved one. Ludwig didn't seem to like kids and Horoem was still nowhere to be found.

Lovino blushed and glared and Feliciano, "Shut up." he growled, putting more of the food into their mouths.

Antonio plopped down next to Feliciano and smiled, "But, Lovi, you really are too cute sitting there with the babies~! So cute!"

The older brother glared, picked up the twins and placed them in their bed before turning his dark glare on Feliciano and Antonio.

"Ve~! Don't hurt me!" he shouted in fear of what his brother was going to do to him, but rather than getting hit or bitten, he felt Lovino tackle him to the bed and hold onto his tightly. He felt a wave of love and longing for his brother and held him back.

He heard an aw from his new big brother but an ouch soon followed. Feliciano smiled, burying his face into Lovino's neck.

"Lovi … I have to get going now …" he frowned, remembering that Ludwig had gone to get them something to eat and that everyone was probably worried about him.

"No …" Lovino glared, "Stay here tonight … I missed you …"

The younger brother smiled and nodded, "Okay!" he would just have to make it up to the others tomorrow. That night, he was happy to fall asleep in his brother's arms again.

He was awoken with a jolt the next morning with Lovino screaming about a snake, but when he jumped up, and began crying, Lovino told him there was no snake.

Instead of heading back to find Ludwig, like he thought, he ended up staying with Lovino some more while Lovino went to work. Their first stop was actually breakfast. Feliciano smiled softly, popping some fruit into his mouth. He looked up to see the red and yellow and orange bird resting on Lovino's shoulder.

"What is that?" he asked, studying her.

Lovino looked at her, "A phoenix. I named her Ariana. Antonio got her for me for my … seventeenth … birthday, I think …" he shrugged and smiled softly.

"Ve~! A phoenix! So pretty!" Feliciano smiled, reaching out to touch her. He'd never seen a real phoenix before!

"I wouldn't if I were you. She's very territorial. Just … go slowly … I'm surprised she allowed anyone to pick up Tristán that wasn't me." Feliciano nodded and went slower and Ariana watched him closely, but let him touch the feathers softly, "Ve~!" that was so exciting!

His heart twisted again when Lovino sighed grumpily and scooted his plate away from the little girl at the table. She frowned and began whining before Lovino set a separate plate of fruit for them. Feliciano smiled lightly at his niece and nephew, "They're so adorable~!" he cooed.

Lovino nodded, "Yup and they're all mine," he smiled tickling Tristán, causing the little boy to laugh and squirm. He smiled and rubbed his head lightly, "I love them so much … thank you …" he blushed lightly.

Feliciano tilted his head in confusion, "For what?"

"For dropping the necklace that day. If you hadn't done that, none of this would have happened."

Feliciano was still confused, but shrugged it off, "I didn't do anything …"

After breakfast was finished, Lovino got to do his duties, as he called them. Feliciano looked at the little girl he'd yet to hold or get to know, "Lovi! Can I hold her, please?"

Lovino glared and clutched the twins tightly.

"Please?" the younger brother let his lips quiver.

"Fine." he made a move to let Romano go to Feliciano. She went with no problem and Lovino nodded, "But if you drop her, I'll kick your ass!"

Feliciano nodded nervously, and held her tightly as they continued walking. He stood back as he brother stopped at a group of arguing men and women. It was the same thing. Lovino would stop a group from fighting and go on to the next one.

"Ve~ it's weird …"

"What's weird, dumb-dumb?" Lovino snapped, having to stop what he was talking about with the men.

Feliciano shrugged, "That you're the one doing all this. Ve … isn't that a royal's job? And some of these people call you majesty … why?"

Lovino stared at him. "A-are you really that stupid?"

Feliciano pouted, "What? I'm not stupid!" he crossed his arms as best he could with Romano in his arms. She squealed in discomfort.

"Is this your brother, your majesty?" one of the men asked.

Lovino nodded, "Yeah. Feliciano, why would someone call another 'your majesty'?"

Feliciano thought for a second, "Because they are a king or a queen or a prince or a princess?"

Lovino nodded, "Yes. That's right, now why would they call me 'your majesty'?"

He thought for a second before a huge grin spread across his face, "Because you're a king or a queen or a prince or a princess!"

"That's right, Feli."

Feliciano tilted his head, "Wait … you're …" that couldn't be. He thought, confused.

"Queen. Of Sverran. Antonio, my husband, is the king." he explained, quickly, turning back to the men and telling them exactly where the stuff they were fighting over was going, "The extra blankets over here. They have more children and elderly, however, they have more need for the coats. Hunting men, right?" they nodded, "They'll need the lighter easier to move clothing to gather food anyways."

They nodded and divided up the stuff per Lovino's instruction.

"You're a queen~?" Feliciano smiled and jumped, "I've never met a queen or a king before! Does that mean these two are royalty, too?" he looked at the twins.

Lovino nodded, "Yeah, Tristán will take the throne when Antonio passes it to him."

"That's so cool! Does that make me a prince, too?" Feliciano asked, excitedly. It would have been so cool if he could be a prince, too.

Lovino raised his brow and shrugged, "I don't know that you'd be a prince, but you'd definitely be important to me and through me, Antonio. Maybe he'd give you a title like lord or something. I don't really know how that works."

Feliciano laughed lightly and nodded. But his mind became preoccupied with another thought, "Luddy is a knight. People call him lord or sir all the time. It's really amazing!"

"Who the hell is 'Luddy' and why does that name make me want to punch the person?"

Feliciano tilted his head, "Oh! Ludwig is the knight who saved us! I was almost tricked into becoming dinner when he showed up and killed the naga. Of course, when a dragon attacked he fought it, too and decided that it was too dangerous around~! He led us all to safety! He's supposed to be meeting his brother here! I told you that earlier, remember? Anyways, he's my new best friend! I told you about him last night!"

"Oh, right … His brother?" Lovino frowned.

"Yeah~! Gilbert Beilschmidt!"

Lovino cringed, "This Ludwig person is his brother? I hate him already. Stupid potato bastards!"

"Ve~! You know Gilbert?"

"Unfortunately, the jerk came around a month or so ago and pestered me and Antonio. Won't leave us alone for a few fucking minutes to save his life. Those two and King Francis of Fayldyr were best friends a really long time ago." Lovino sighed, sitting down for a bit of lunch, "I can't stand them where two of them are together … but Francis is coming to visit and it's going to only worsen."

"Ve~?"

Lovino fed a bite off of his plate to Tristán, "Did you know that bastard we met a long time ago, Francis, was a prince? That's the guy coming to visit."

Feliciano's eyes widened with joy. Of course he remembered Big brother Francis! "Big brother Francis? Ve~! I haven't seen him since I was a little kid!"

"He's just a perverted bastard." Lovino shrugged giving Romana a bite as well, not really eating any himself. He kissed her head and smiled.

After the twins were well fed, he and Feliciano carried them back to the tent to put the sleepy twins down for a nap. They slept almost the second their little heads laid down. Feliciano smiled down at his niece and nephew.

"They are so cute! You're so lucky, Lovi~!" he spoke with the twinge of jealousy. He probably would give anything to have one of his own.

"So whatever happened with your Horoem or whatever his name was?" at this, Feliciano froze. Pain welled up in his chest, "I don't really know …" he heard his voice cracking, "He never came back …" he ghosted his fingers over the spot he knew the necklace rested, "I keep waiting … but he never comes … not that he'll find me now that I was forced to leave home … ve …"

Lovino sighed and began awkwardly comforting his little brother. Feliciano smiled, but still felt the dull ache in his chest. He'd been trying so hard not to think about his brother's happiness versus his lack thereof. On top of not knowing where Horoem was, he was now confused because of Ludwig as well.


	5. Camp Life

Feliciano sighed, his mind still caught on the subject of his mixed feelings. Maybe his brother could help, "Ve … I like Luddy … like … really like him …"

His older brother looked at his with a disgusted face, "Why? What about your fiancé?"

Feliciano smiled guiltily, "I know … I'm so confused … I love Horoem … but … it's been over ten years … Big sister Elizaveta said he might be coming back for me … and I hate to say this … but I'm not so sure. I miss him … ve … I want to be with him. He was my first love and I thought maybe he was my only love … but Luddy is here now … and I really like him. He's strong and brave and handsome and …" he just sighed. He hated this feeling and he couldn't tell if it was because he was grateful to Ludwig for saving his life or if he was really developing feelings for the blond Gartyrarren.

Lovino wrapped his arms around Feliciano and the Illonian burst into tears, "I don't know what to do! I love them both, but Ludwig doesn't like me and Horoem won't come back!" he continued letting everything off his chest until he finally felt the reaches of sleepiness pulling at him.

He gave in and fell into a deep, almost relieved, nap. Feliciano was awoken a little bit later by his brother-in-law.

Feliciano groaned in his sleepy state and looked up at Antonio, "Can you help Ariana babysit? Lovino seems to be shirking his paperwork and I'm going to have to help him, but the babies need someone to watch them. Who's better than their uncle they should be getting to know?"

Happiness sparked through Feliciano. He would finally get more time with his niece and nephew! "Okay~!"

Antonio picked up the twins and placed them in Feliciano's arms, "Thank you! Now, Ariana knows what's best, so just follow her and don't let them out of your sight or get hurt. Lovino will probably come find you when he's done."

The Vargas man nodded and lifted the babies up, "Oh, they're heavy together~! Ve~! I'll see you later then, big brother Tonio?"

Antonio nodded, "Oh and don't spoil their dinner by letting them eat anything more than those cookies. Lovino might get upset."

Feliciano smiled, leaving the tent with the babies. They silently ate the cookies Antonio must have given them and he looked around, wondering where to go first. He spent the next ten minutes looking at pretty jewelry that a woman was selling to help keep her family fed.

He laughed lightly as Romana pulled off her circlet and tried to give it to the woman. She smiled kindly, taking it and placing it back on the princess's head, "Why thank you, your majesty~" Romana shrugged and slapped her brother's hand away from her circlet.

"No, Tissy!" she yelped.

Tristán began crying and Feliciano bounced the twins lightly, trying to calm him down, "Oh … please stop crying! Lovi will be so mad if I broke you!" he bounced the child some more until he calmed down and he smiled in relief.

He turned to walk away, but came face to face with Ludwig, "Feliciano … here I am looking all over for you and you're playing with some stranger's kids?" he sighed, looking around, "We'd better find their mother and give them back." he reached out to take Tristán from Feliciano, but Feliciano pulled them out of reach.

"Don't touch them, Luddy …"

"Feliciano, seriously, these aren't your children and their mother is probably worried sick!" he grabbed Tristán's arm and Feliciano yelped as a loud cry shot out through the air and Ariana began attacking Ludwig.

The Illonian's heart began racing, not knowing what to do. He couldn't put the babies down, else his brother get really mad if they happened to wander off, but he couldn't just let Ludwig get eaten by the phoenix.

He chose the obvious to protect the twins from the gathering crowd and clutched them tightly. Ariana's screeches were scaring them and they began crying.

A loud whistled pierced the air and everyone went silent as Ariana flew off to the side. Feliciano knew it was his brother. He turned to apologize, but Lovino stormed up to Ludwig and slammed his fist into his face, "How dare you touch my children!" he yelled.

Ludwig stared in disbelief at the two men before him. Feliciano looked apologetically at the one who'd hit him and handed him the children. They were almost identical!

"I told you not to touch them, Luddy …"

"What the …?" he couldn't believe how much they looked alike. No wonder the kids thought he was their father. He shook his head lightly, clearing such insane thoughts away. The real father turned away and hushed the babies.

"Ludwig! We heard the commotion! Are you okay?" he heard Elizaveta's voice as she ran up with Roderich.

Ludwig nodded, dusting himself off and gripping his chin, "Yeah … I'm okay. I finally found Feliciano and he was playing with two strange children … He said something about not touching them, but I wondered who they belonged to since they weren't his and maybe I'd help find their real mother. I should have listened. That damn phoenix started attacking me and their father hit me so hard I was seeing double."

Ludwig looked up at the father of the children as another man ran up. He had tan skin and emerald eyes, "What's going on here, sweetheart?" the man wrapped his arms around his family. Ludwig frowned lightly and looked to Feliciano. He was severely disappointed in the young man for causing worry to the family.

The two spoke for a moment and the taller, tan man looked up with a dark intent in his eyes. Ludwig didn't look at Feliciano as he made sure Ludwig's chin was okay. The man frowned lightly and rubbed the shorter man's shoulder.

"I'm terribly sorry about that … um …" Ludwig's attention snapped to Roderich, whom took a step forward. The Gartyrarren looked back to the man.

"Antonio … King Antonio Fernandez Carriedo of Sverran." he said a tad bit bitterly, "And it seems you upset my husband?" Ludwig didn't know whether to feel scared or angry. He'd unintentionally upset the royal family of Sverran because of Feliciano. He wanted to scold Feliciano, but the Illonian wouldn't look at him.

"Your majesty, Ludwig meant no disrespect, especially to the royal family so gracious enough to host refugees from Illonia. It's just we found Feliciano holding children that didn't belong to him and we only wanted to find their family." Roderich tried to explain.

King Antonio glared hard at Roderich, but frowned apologetically to his supposed husband. Feliciano winced when Elizaveta gave him a disapproving look.

"Feliciano is family." the king spun his husband around and Ludwig looked confused at the queen of Sverran. His hazel eyes widened before he turned and kicked the king's leg. King Antonio hissed in pain.

"Lovino?" Elizaveta whispered. Ludwig looked at her as tears filled her eyes. His gaze looked to Roderich, who was just shocked. So that was the brother who went missing in Sverran?

Feliciano took off after his brother and the king glared, "I assume you know my queen?"

Elizaveta let her tears fall and she looked at the king, "Is that really Lovino? I thought he was dead!"

The king's gaze hardened lightly, "He almost was … luckily, he fell into water and was saved by a passing mermaid. I found him afterward and took him in. He's been my queen for several years now and quite happy. I thank you for bringing us Feliciano. We've been searching for him for quite some time." he turned and was about to storm off, after the two brothers.

"Wait!" Elizaveta called out desperately, "Please … please let me see him … talk to him …" Ludwig bit his lip, sinking back a bit to stand next to Roderich. He feared what would happen to him if he were to upset the king who housed him and his brother, wherever he was.

The king shrugged, "If he'll allow it. He's a tad touchy about the subject of his being sold off." King Antonio muttered bitterly, glaring lightly, "While I thank you for allowing the chance for me to meet the love of my life, I do hate you for separating him from his brother. He's been miserable about that."

Elizaveta nodded, "I'll be back, Roderich, Ludwig." she quickly followed after him.

"Now what?" Ludwig asked Roderich. The man shrugged, "I don't know. She divorced me because of Lovino. She said I'd become heartless and cruel … I was being realistic. All we can do is wait for them to come back. Feliciano might not come back at all … now that he has his family back."

Ludwig didn't know why, but those words struck a chord with him. Feliciano might not come back? He sighed. He didn't understand, but when he was with Feliciano, it felt as though a part of him had returned. He then knew things he'd never known before, like the lullaby his mother sang to him when he was younger, the smell of her perfume. He remembered Roderich and growing up with him for a little bit and the young man who'd lived with his family for a while. Most importantly, when he was with the Illonian, he remembered his Ita better, her laugh, the way she could take a stick and create gorgeous drawings in the sand by their hiding spot.

He felt more like a human being when Feliciano was around … so maybe … that was why he didn't want to part with his friend … his only friend.

Ludwig groaned, "I'm going to get something to drink." Roderich nodded as Ludwig made his way to the tent he'd found with food and drink and bought a beer. It was like piss compared to the stuff brewed up north, but he drank it anyway.

His mind focused on the thought of losing his best friend and he sighed. He downed the rest of his beer and pushed the cup away to let his head rest on his hand. The scratched in his face and arms stung, but not nearly as much as the thought of losing Feliciano.

"Ve~! Luddy!" he felt arms slip around his neck, "Ellie said you were looking for me?"

The Gartyrarren nodded, "Uh … I guess so …" his face lit up lightly. The two sat in silence for a moment before Feliciano began babbling about his brother.

"He's the queen of Sverran! Can you believe it? Ve~ he said he was going to give me a title! Isn't that amazing? I feel so special being related to royalty!" he laughed lightly.

Ludwig smiled for Feliciano, "So, are you going to live in the palace with your brother?" just asking the question had he man on pins and needles. His heart began to race.

"Ve? Well … maybe~ I'd like to return to Illonia if it ever gets better. There's someone waiting for me." he spoke softly, kind of sadly.

"Who?" he was almost afraid to ask.

Feliciano's face lit up with joy and pain, "My fiancé."

The blonde man held back his frown, "Fiancée?"

"Yup~ I have to go back now that I know where my brother is~" Feliciano laughed happily. Ludwig nodded and ordered another beer. The knight sighed, wondering why it upset him so much. He had his own love to find back in Illonia as well.

Feliciano spent the rest of the day showing Ludwig around the camps where his brother had supposedly taken him.

"Oh my~" Ludwig turned to see a blond man sitting at a table. The man was staring Feliciano over in his drunken haze, "Why if it isn't the little queen~" the man was sitting next to the king, Antonio, who squinted, also drunk.

"That's … that's not Lovi … Feli!" the man laughed.

Feliciano smiled and ran over to sit down, "Big brother Francis! Big brother Tonio!" Ludwig sighed, having no choice but to sit down as well.

"Sorry … 'bout earlier!" the king Antonio slurred lightly, "Lovi … Lovi doesn' like anyone touching the twins, 'cept family."

"Tell me about it!" Francis laughed, "That husband of yours is too uptight~ unlike his cute little brother~" Francis leaned over to hug Feliciano, "You've grown so much since the last time I saw you~! You were such a tiny little thing!"

"Yo! West, about time you made it this way!" Ludwig turned to see his brother walking up holding a pitcher and a bottle of wine. He sat down and handed the wine to Francis and poured the pitcher into a cup for himself, "Here have a drink! I didn't know you were here."

"Ve?"

Ludwig rolled his eyes, "I could say the same. I thought you had gone to the capital." he sipped the pisswater.

Gilbert laughed, "I was, but the man I came to see was in hiding here." he wrapped his arm over Antonio's shoulder. The king laughed lightly, "It's been too long since we were all together!" he laughed back.

The younger knight frowned, only now noticing the two were slightly familiar.

"I want to go too, brother!" Ludwig shouted.

Gilbert, much younger, turned back, "No, now go home. I'm not even your real brother!" he ran off with the two young boys, one brunette, the other blond. The five year old frowned, muttering about it being the worst vacation ever.

"Yo … west … you there? You zoned out … get another memory?"

Francis grinned, "Now I remember him! He was that little one that always followed you around!"

"Oh yeah!" Antonio laughed, "He had almost managed to follow us to the hide out once!"

Ludwig gave Gilbert a look, but said nothing as Antonio went off on some anecdote about going there in the recent years and fighting a dragon and what not. Ludwig didn't pay much attention. He was lost in the memory he'd gotten back. They'd only spent a little time in Sverran that time, long enough for Ludwig to resent his brother and for said brother to make two lifetime friends.

"I almost died, but my sweet little Lovi saved me~! Oh man … that week was crazy …" Antonio chuckled, darkly. Ludwig saw it was obvious that Antonio didn't think that day was as funny as he let on, but the blond man said nothing.

Feliciano yawned and leaned against Ludwig, "Go to bed." Ludwig groaned, pushing against him, "Elizaveta is in the northern camp …"

The Illonian shook his head and curled up against Ludwig, dozing off slightly. Gilbert looked over, "Woo~!" he cheered, getting Antonio and Francis to join in, "I'll give you my tent so you can get cozy~!"

Ludwig felt a vein popping as he shoved the sleepy Illonian from his shoulder again, "Shut up, East." he sighed, embarrassed.

The king of Sverran and the king of Fayldyr, as Ludwig learned shortly after their talking picked back up, went off. Francis had to be off the next morning, back to his kingdom and Antonio was already knowing he was going to get his ass chewed out for leaving for so long on such a hard day for his husband.

Feliciano had his head on the table, sleeping while Ludwig was being bombarded with questions from his older brother.

"So, did you find her?" Gilbert asked, sipping the wannabe beer. His red eyes glinted mischievously in the dim lighting of the torches put up at night.

"Does it look like I found her?" Ludwig growled, annoyed, "I found the village, saved this thing from being dinner, was invited into his home because I saved him, only to find out she doesn't live in the village and if she did she's dead. I offered to help the village and came here …" he sipped the foul liquid and shuddered as the unnatural flavors burned down his throat.

Gilbert sighed, "West … I knew it was a long shot in the first place, but … your fiancée is out there. I know it. But maybe you should ask yourself if this is what you want. I mean … not everyone has to settle down and besides," he patted his littler brother's shoulder, "We're knights, we don't get romantic until we're ready to give up a life of adventure. It's hard to raise a family and love a spouse while fighting dragons for a kingdom and hooking up with sexy fairies and mermaids, am I right?"

Ludwig rolled his eyes, "It's not about the wife or about settling down …" he pulled the pendant from his shirt, "this is about finding the other half of my key … my world seemed to revolve around that girl … and now my memories are buried away with no hope of getting out unless I find her … memories of mother … of father … of my past … she holds the key and I won't rest until she's in my arms …"

Feliciano grumbled something about pasta in his sleep and shifted a bit to locate a source of heat and curled up in Ludwig's lap. The Gartyrarren sighed and draped an arm over him while tucking away his pendant with the other hand.

Gilbert looked at his brother, then to the coppery haired Illonian and smiled.

"I'm going to get him to bed. The king of Sverran seems to be leaving in a week and Feliciano and I are going with him."

"As am I, West. I still need a damn job and I'm sure Toni will give me one. The bitch owes me big time for stalling him on something important a while back. Anyways, see you tomorrow, West."

Ludwig nodded and slung Feliciano over his shoulder, dragging him back to his tent. He slipping inside and placed Feliciano onto an extra cot. The Gartyrarren took off the Illonian's boots and sighed, taking off his own as well as his jacket.

Sleep refused to come to Ludwig, at least, not for a while. He laid awake several hours just imagining what life would have been like had he not forgotten.


	6. Chapter 6

Ludwig looked up and saw her there. Her short copper hair glistened in the sunlight, her melodic, childish voice echoed hauntingly. She turned her eyes to Ludwig and smiled, clutching her white dress up as she waded through the water.

"Horoem~!" she called out lovingly. She was different … older … as she would look if she were his age now.

She stepped from the water and slowly made her way up to him, "Horoem~" her voice began changing.

"Ludwig~" she muttered. A blush spread across his cheeks and he licked his lips, reaching out to grab her now extended hand. She looked strangely familiar … kind of like-

"Ludwig!"

His eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, slamming his face into Feliciano's. The Illonian stumbled back, tripping over his boots and landing on his butt on the ground, "Ow!" Feliciano groaned, continuing to lie on the ground pathetically.

Ludwig shook his head and looked up, "What do you want, Feliciano?" he groaned, himself, shaking the dream from his head. It was honestly the first dream he'd had in a while that wasn't a memory.

After helping his mess of a friend up, he got dressed and headed out, with Feliciano in tow, to find his brother. He found Gilbert sitting in the food tent with the king Antonio and, Ludwig frowned, his queen, Feliciano's brother.

"Ve~! Lovi!" Feliciano ran to hug his brother as well as the two children sitting beside him. Ludwig carefully seated himself beside his older brother, but was well aware of the dark, anger filled glare he was receiving from the queen.

He cleared his throat lightly and grabbed some food for himself and began eating. Antonio and Gilbert talked about the job opportunity for him and Ludwig.

"Oh fu-" the queen glared, "I don't even think so! This bas-jerk tried to hurt my kids!"

Ludwig glared, feeling a headache coming on, "I was worried that Feliciano had picked up some stranger's children. I meant no harm to them or you."

"So you admit you thought my brother was trying to kidnap someone's kids! Is that anyways for a friend to think about another?" he spat back.

"No. that's not what I was saying. What would you think if you saw your brother, who you know does not have children, standing in the middle of a crowded area holding children?"

Lovino glared, "I'd think he was babysitting my twins."

Ludwig glared, "I didn't know you were here. I was informed you were dead."

The queen glared harder than before, "We'll get this straight right here, right now, potato bas-" he covered his children's ears, "Potato bastard, I hate you, I loathe you, I would love to see you hanging by your 'perfectly styled' head from my bedroom window. Watch your fucking step. He can have a job, but only because I want my brother at home with me." he let go of the kid's ears and picked them up, storming away.

The Gartyrarren knight was slightly confused, but expected no less from the man he'd accidentally insulted. Plus, according to Feliciano, Lovino was mostly all bark and little bite. He rubbed his bruised jaw, knowing his bite could be harsh.

"Well, well …" Ludwig looked up to see Elizaveta and Roderich walking up. Elizaveta's eyes were trained passed Ludwig at his silver haired brother, who'd yet to look up. The woman grabbed a frying pan from a random table and walked up, "If it isn't you!"

Gilbert looked up and spit out his beer all over Antonio and Ludwig. Then the man began laughing harder than Ludwig had ever seen him laugh before, "Oh this is rich! You're actually wearing dresses now?"

Elizaveta growled, but had a dark grin on her face, "Yes … I am."

"You don't remember," Gilbert turned to Ludwig, "But she used to live with us up north. She also thought she was a boy and that your pe-"

She hit him with the pan, "Shut up!"

"Ve~! Wait! That means you were telling me your story?" Feliciano tilted his head, only adding to the confusion, "At bed time … the girl who thought she was a boy?"

The woman blushed, "Of course, Feli~!" she set the pan down, ignoring Gilbert's cries of pain.

Ludwig shook his head and ignored everyone, even as his brother noticed Roderich and began teasing him about things from their past.

The next few days passed too quickly it seemed. Lovino avoided Ludwig and Roderich at all costs. He didn't mind, though, he'd rather avoid angering the Sverran queen anyway.

Two carriages had been set up for their trip to the castle and he stood beside one, waiting for Elizaveta, Roderich and Gilbert to stop arguing and climb into one. He looked up and saw Feliciano talking with his brother, who looked rather upset and angry. He turned away and climbed into his own carriage. Feliciano came bounding over and wrapped his arms around Ludwig tightly, "Ve~ I'm riding with you, Luddy!"

As the day dragged on, Ludwig quickly grew tired of the fighting, arguing and what not and tried to sleep, but Feliciano beat him to it and fell asleep on his shoulder, only adding to his embarrassment when Gilbert began teasing him and Elizaveta joined in, blood trickling from her nose. He began wondering if something was severely wrong with her.

Night fell and Ludwig found they pulled to a stop in front of an inn. A frown marred his face, "Feliciano, go see why we've stopped …"

The young man woke up and nodded, climbing out, only to come back a few minutes later, "Lovi said that you're either blind or stupid … we're staying at the inn and that he's paying for three rooms."

Ludwig rolled his eyes and climbed out. Feliciano grabbed his arm, "I want to spend the night in Luddy's room~!"

Elizaveta giggled, "Then I guess, that leaves Gil, Roddy and I in the third room~"

"Oh hell no, princ-" the woman let her fist fall, hitting Gilbert where it counted. The man doubled over in pain, "Evil bitch!" he growled as Antonio handed them the two other keys to their rooms.

Ludwig and Feliciano went into the room they would be sharing and looked around. Feliciano made a happy squealing noise and leaped onto the bed, "It's been so long since I've been on a real bed!" he laughed lightly, kicking off his boots and curling up.

The Gartyrarren nodded, sitting beside him on the bed. He kicked of his boots. After a moment, he sighed and went to wash up his face in the large bowl on the dresser. He rubbed his face and let his hair fall down in his face. Ludwig crossed the room and lied down to sleep.

"Ve … Luddy …" Feliciano rolled over to face Ludwig. The man stared back, slightly surprised that his friend hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"Yes, Feliciano?"

A blush crept into the younger man's face and he averted his gaze, "If you promised yourself to someone … but that someone never came back to you … w-would it still be wrong to fall in love with another person?"

Ludwig was caught off guard, unable to truly answer the question, "Well … a promise is a very important thing, but … I've never … I don't … I haven't felt love for a very long time, Feliciano … I can't tell you what I would feel in your position, but I can say that you should honor your promise."

"Oh …" he looked dejected, "I see … thank you, Luddy." Feliciano rolled back over to sleep.

The older man just sighed and fell asleep as well, still confused by the question.

Morning came and the two ate a quick meal, Feliciano's question seemingly forgotten completely by the Vargas. He happily hopped into the carriage and began talking about the pasta filled dream he had and the first thing he was going to do upon reaching his brother's home was to eat a huge bowl of it. Ludwig remembered a part of his dreams where he promised himself to eat some for Ita.

A few hours passed and the carriages stopped again for a small break. The blonde man climbed out, thankful for the calming peace that now surrounded him. He didn't care for Lovino, but he spotted the man standing by the side of the road pointing out the land to his son.

He turned around and let out a soft sigh. Feliciano was standing beside a semi-steep hill, looking down, "Ve~"

"Get away from there. I'm not going to risk you falling down like you did on the mountain …"

Feliciano laughed and stepped away from the edge, yet it wasn't enough of a boundary to keep the Illonian from falling. He slipped and began stumbling backwards. Ludwig rushed forward to catch him, but ended up slipping as well. His first instinct was to wrap his arms tightly around Feliciano and keep him from getting severely injured.

His back hit the ground hard and he gripped Feliciano's head, holding him away from the ground as they rolled. Finally the two came to a stop and Ludwig groaned, letting go on the man lying on top of him. He just knew his arms and back were covered in scratches and cuts and bruises.

Feliciano made a move to sit up but yelped when he was caught on something.

Ludwig sat up as well and looked down to see Feliciano looking at his pendant, which what Feliciano was caught on. However, the Illonian was teeming with emotions. Ludwig looked down at the pendant. Both of them were wearing identical iron crosses.

Anger bubbled up in Ludwig as he reached up to untangle them, "Who the hell gave you that?" he growled.

The Illonian looked up at him in surprise, "What … I mean … it was my fiancé … my true love … it's a symbol of engagement … I wa-"

Ludwig shoved Feliciano back, getting angrier with each word, the pendant around Feliciano's neck snapped, letting the iron cross hit the ground with the broken cord lying limply around it. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen and heard.

'So she was real … but …' he looked back at Feliciano, who picked up his cross, looking devastated, 'she gave her heart to another …' he climbed into his carriage and slammed the door behind him. His fingers brushed over the cross beneath his shirt and he closed his eyes, reaching into his shirt, pulling it out and stuffing it into his pocket instead. He felt bare without it around his neck, naked, but Ludwig still couldn't believe his young love had given her heart away. He couldn't believe she would give another his gift to her, his token of love and devotion.

"Yo West~!" Gilbert climbed in the carriage, laughing brightly, Elizaveta behind him.

"Remember, asshole, not a damn word to either of them!" she warned, sitting down.

Gilbert held up his hands, "My lips are sealed~!"

The younger Beilschmidt was not in the mood and closed his eyes to sleep.

"Where's our cutie at?" Gilbert asked as the carriage began moving.

"He wanted to ride with his brother." Roderich stated, looking out the window, "Poor thing looked quite distraught about something."

Ludwig growled to himself, slipping into a fitful sleep.

Feliciano sat across from his brother, holding his niece. She played with his broken trinket while he held back his tears. Ludwig … was his Horoem … He had come back to him after all!

However … things couldn't be happy, could they? Ludwig seemed to hate him now. What had he done wrong? He didn't understand why Ludwig would break their … he blushed dark red … engagement off like that. It had made things so much easier for Feliciano when he realized they were the same person.

Why hadn't he seen it earlier? Blonde hair, blue eyes, hazy past, a knight … in search of his intended … he bit his lip hard, to keep from crying. Lovino, Antonio and Tristán were all asleep, leaving Feliciano alone with his thoughts and a very much awake Romana. She waved the cross around and finally dropped it in the seat beside them before turning to the source of the water on her neck. Her green eyes met gold ones, blurred with tears. The little girl frowned, only having known her uncle for a short period of time, but she knew he only cried once before. Usually he always smiled. She rested her hand on his cheek, wondering what was wrong.

Feliciano smiled and pressed a kiss to his niece's forehead and smiled down at her, but he couldn't hold it back anymore and began sobbing. She frowned, feeling her own sympathy pouring out. She began crying as well, but Feliciano hushed her before his brother woke up and killed him for upsetting his daughter.

The two finally were able to doze off. When he awoke sometime later, they had arrived at the castle.

A whole bunch of commotion went on outside the carriage on the steps as two strange women hugged all over Lovino, speaking to him in their Sverran tongue until the older woman greeted Feliciano as Lovino's mama. He smiled and just nodded calmly. He really wanted to just go to bed and try to forget the ten years of longing for his lost love and the new disappointment that had settled in where hope used to be.

Lovino dragged him down the halls to a great big bed room. It was gorgeous and had a large painted portrait of Lovino, Antonio and the twins when they were much younger hanging above the bed.

He'd liked all the other art he'd seen so far and that was no exception. The woman, Tessa, as he'd learned, finished helping Lovino with the bath before she left. Feliciano stood awkwardly as his brother stripped down the babies and placed them in the water.

"Feli, this bath is for you, too. Go ahead and jump in." Lovino muttered, joining the twins.

The younger brother nodded, "Oh … okay …" he was still quite unsure about getting in the water, but he slipped into it anyway and looked up at his brother. His body was thin and surprisingly enough slightly muscled. Feliciano wondered if that was the problem … was he not thin enough for Ludwig? Maybe it was the fact that he was nothing special … that he couldn't be strong like Ludwig …

"The water feels so nice~ who was that other girl from earlier? The one who spoke in that strange Sverran language?" he whispered, wanting to change the subject in his mind.

The queen looked up, "Oh! Femke. My surrogate sister here. We were best friends when we were younger, but Tessa adopted me as her own. She doesn't speak Illonian, so for the first year or two we didn't understand a thing the other said. Oh, and you should probably know that Savino, the male servant, is our half-brother."

Feliciano looked at him a bit shocked. They had a brother? "A brother huh? Ve~! That's amazing~!" his smile faded, "It's been so long since I've been in a nice hot bath~!"

Lovino laughed, "My whole life seemed to revolve around these stupid things. When I started working here, it was as Antonio's personal servant, mostly folding his clothes and running his bath kind of stuff." he grinned, "Our first kiss was at the bath …" he blushed lightly.

Feliciano smiled warmly, but he could only feel numbness inside of him, "What if I told you I found Horoem … but he hates me?"

A glare came over Lovino's face, "Why the fuck does he hate you?"

"Well … Lud- … Ludwig is him … I didn't know it when we first met a while back that it was him … but," he frowned lightly, hugging his legs to his chest, void of a special little necklace, "when we stopped to stretch our legs earlier … I slipped down the ditch and Ludwig came tumbling after me. When we hit the bottom of the ditch … ve … I tried to sit up off of him, but got caught … by a matching necklace …" he rubbed away falling tears, "He got mad at me and asked me who gave it to me … I said my true love did and he got angry and pushed away from me, breaking the cord to my necklace. It's Horoem … I just know it … blue eyes, blonde hair … oh Lovi! Ve … I don't know what to do! He hates me, but I love him so much!"

"It's going to be alright, okay? Just … let things be for right now, okay? He'll come around and if he doesn't … then it was never meant to be." Lovino sighed, hugging his brother. The twins mimicked their mama and hugged their uncle as well. Feliciano smiled lightly, but was horrified at the notion of what his brother had said. He shook it away and got up with his sibling to get redressed.

His eyes fell on his brother again, his eyes widened slightly, "Ve~! You have a scar on your belly! And your shoulder!"

Lovino looked over them and a small, warm smile came over his face, "This one is from the naga attack and this is the scar left over from giving birth to Romana and Tristán." he caressed the scar on his belly.

"Ve~!" Feliciano hesitantly reached out and touched the belly scar, "I'd like to have a baby, too!" he wondered if Lovino would set it up to where he could have a baby, too … maybe with Ludwig?

Lovino blushed, "It's not all fun and games!" Feliciano winced, "but I think you'll make a great mama." Feliciano smiled lightly, but knew it probably wouldn't happen.

He helped his brother feed the babies and decided it was time for him to find the room he would be sleeping in and get some sleep. Lovino called to a guard to lead him to his room.

Feliciano hugged Lovino tightly, "Goon night, brother … I love you …"

Lovino frowned lightly, "I love you, too … good night." the younger brother gave him a smile and walked down the hallway.

He made it to the room with no problems and laid down on the bed, suddenly feeling utterly alone lying on the big bed. He had no idea where Elizaveta's bedroom was, so he couldn't go crawl into bed with her.

Not that it mattered. She couldn't kiss the wound to make it better. Subconsciously, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace. There was no way he could stay here. Ludwig was going to be working there, wasn't he? Feliciano tied the broken cord back up and slipped it over his neck. No matter what Ludwig said or did, Feliciano knew his heart still belonged to the blonde man. He grabbed a small pack and grabbed some of the food that had been delivered to his room and filled the pack up. He wiped away the tears and opened up his balcony doors and smiled, "I'm glad you're safe, Lovi …" he began climbing down.


	7. Chapter 7

Ludwig st down in the kitchen with a huge stein of beer, imported stuff, so it was doing its job properly. He's spent all night, sleeplessly sipping at the alcoholic beverage. His eyes burned from lack of sleep and he was slightly drunk from the many beers he'd already downed in the passed several hours.

Gilbert walked in and frowned, "Look at you, West … drinking a bit early, are we?" the older brother patted the blond's shoulder and sat down, "I mean, I love beer as much as Gartyrarren, but seriously … dawn hasn't even broken yet."

"Shut up …" Ludwig glared, "She doesn't love me … I'll never see her again …"

"Who?" Gilbert asked, taking his brother's drink and sipping it himself, "Oh, this is good!" he took another, deeper drink.

The younger knight glared, "Ita! She gave her heart to another already … even gave away the cross, too …" he growled, taking his drink back and taking a large swig.

"Ita?" Gilbert's eyes widened, "Wait … how did you come about this conclusion?"

Ludwig laid his head down on the table and sighed, "I found the pendant I gave her … on Feliciano …" he ground out his 'ex'best friend's name.

Gilbert didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Oh, dearest brother of mine … I thought you were the smart one in our family. Ita … such a sweet young girl, right? White dress … and … blue eyes?"

"No … golden … like honey … her hair was a coppery reddish brown and her skin was lightly tanned … a little curl … on … the … oh god …" Ludwig's eyes shot open and were open wide.

The albino knight said nothing as he stole his brother's drink again. Elizaveta couldn't hurt him if he didn't actually tell his brother what she told him. He was safe and his brother was discovering his sexuality.

"Ita … wasn't a girl … was she?" the Gartyrarren asked his brother.

Gilbert shrugged, "I can't say for sure … did Feliciano tell you where he got his necklace? It could be a big misunderstanding, no?"

"He told me … his love gave it to him …"

Gilbert grinned, fully enjoying his brother's confusion as everything began falling into place, "And, who was this love of his? Did he ever say it was Ita? Or a girl at all?"

Ludwig shook his head, feeling guilt rack his mind and body, "But the dress-"

"West … prince Tristán wears a dress … I asked Toni about it, because I was confused. He told me it was for Lovino. Apparently, in their home village it was traditional for a child to wear a white dress until they came of age. If Lovino had to take part in that tradition, it's only natural his brother would have too … face it West, Ita is Feliciano and you're in love with him."

The puzzle pieces just seemed to fit and he stood up slowly, "I have to find him …"

He took off down the halls, not caring as he bumped into servant on his way to the room he'd seen Feliciano led to the night before. He rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes as he came up to the open bedroom door and burst through.

However, instead of Feliciano, he found Lovino, holding one of his children in his arms and the other wrapped around his leg. The queen turned around and glared, "Where the fuck is he?"

Ludwig looked to the sides, frantically. Feliciano was nowhere to be found and the balcony was left open. A sinking feeling pulled at Ludwig's mind and he bit his lip, already worried.

"I don't know why he ran off, but I'm sure it has something to do with you. I hate you, but for some unknown reason, he loves you!

"I found out last night that you hate my brother? After all he's done for the passed ten years was wait for you! After our grandfather died, did you know that he'd mumble things about how life would be better when his sweet, dear Horoem came back? I imagined a strong, loving husband waiting for my brother, but instead he's saddled with a broken heart and you.

"You obviously underestimated my power … I finally got my brother back and then you had to go and ruin it! I've been looked for him for years now and now I have no idea where to look!

"So you know what?" the queen shifted his son in his arms and picked up his daughter, "If you don't find my brother, apologize and bring him back here, I will hunt you down and gut you like the pig you are. And that is a fucking promise." Lovino stormed out of the room behind him.

Ludwig stood in the room, shocked and dumbstruck, still confused and hurt and tired. He looked around the room for any sign of where Feliciano had gone, but with no luck, he was forced to begin searching the streets.

He bid Gilbert farewell and sighed. He had to find him … he had to make things right … a blush crept into his cheeks and he rubbed at them. He spent the next week searching the streets of Sverran, picking up stories here and there about a copper haired Illonian heading up north.

The further up north he went, the harder it was to determine which way his Illonian had run off to. Some people said east, others west, most hadn't seen Feliciano at all. Ludwig hated thinking that the young man had run off anywhere. Ludwig made up a small list of possible place he could have gone and decided the first place he should was Fayldyr. Feliciano seemed to care a great deal about 'big brother Francis' so it only made sense he might go there.

Ludwig sighed and began the journey into Fayldyr.

A week had passed of nearly nonstop walking and running and Ludwig was exhausted, but he finally made it to the capital of the kingdom. People bustled around the streets, for the most part ignoring the Gartyrarren man. They paid very little attention to him and some even snubbed their nose at him.

As he made his way to the castle, he found the people were in a commotion over something. They freaked out and ran around wildly, trying to fix up a massive broken foyer.

Ludwig spotted the king standing in the shattered mess, frowning deeply, "Jeanne really loved that window …" the man sighed, turning to see Ludwig walking up, "How nice of you to be here to see me in my time of need~ to what do I owe this honor?"

The Gartyrarren sighed, already tiring of the whole thing. He was worn and purely exhausted from trying to get to Fayldyr in hope of catching wind of Feliciano. He wanted to sleep, he wanted to eat, he wanted to bathe.

"Just on a journey. You wouldn't by chance have a room I could use for the night, would you? Ludwig tread carefully, not wanting to upset the seemingly distressed man.

Francis sighed, "I do, but my castle isn't quite the safest place in Fayldyr anymore … a snow dragon keeps coming back here and kidnapping people … it started a few years ago on my wedding day and he came back again yesterday … I don't know why he keeps coming here, but he seems to fail easily and when he gets frustrated, the blasted thing takes off with a hostage and leaves a female dragon or two in his wake … it really is quite annoying and my castle is beginning to suffer greatly.

"Lovi won't let me stay with them again, since he seems upset about something and they only just got home not long ago and this, that and the other. Oh well~ feel free to stay as long as you want. Dinner is in a few hours." Francis walked away while his servant cleaned up the mess and tried fixing the walls.

Ludwig took the offer quickly and found himself escorted to a lovely room, decorated in fine silks and luxurious pillows and tapestries depicting Fayldyr's history. He stripped of his old worn clothing and walked into the bathing room, where the water was already waiting for him. Ludwig sighed in relief and immediately wasted no time in sinking into the water.

His sore muscles ached so badly as the water attempted to sooth them. Ludwig leaned back in the water and let his hand caress the pendant on his neck. He hadn't much time to think over the passed several days and now was a good a time as ever.

What would he even say to Feliciano when he saw him? 'Sorry, I thought you were a girl before.' or go on saying he'd actually accused him of being unfaithful … even if he did think his Ita was a girl. And where did he stand on that subject? Could he still be with Feliciano even then? Where he was from men and women didn't often marry the same gender as themselves. They fooled around on occasion, but marriage had been something only man and wife took on. He didn't really know if the same sex could marry since he'd never really considered marriage.

Feliciano was certainly attractive … and sweet … and caring. He fit the bill of a 'wife', at least the definition of one where he was from. Lovino seemed to make a piss poor wife for his husband, but maybe that was because he wasn't a girl?

Ludwig groaned in the confusion he was laying on himself. He'd mentioned just the other night when Feliciano asked that seemingly silly question that a promise was to be kept and he'd promised to marry Ita … but did he still feel that way about Feliciano now that he knew they were the same person?

He closed his eyes and chose to forget these things and just focus on finding the Illonian. His bath came to an end once he figured he was thoroughly clean and he dressed in the clothing he'd been supplied with. It was honestly too fancy for his tastes and left his important vital spots open for attack.

However, the clothing he came in was far too worn to of any more help than the silks he wore now.

The man made his way down to the dinner hall, where he supposed he should be if he wanted to appease his gracious host. The halls of the castle were decorated beautifully, and a little too extravagant for Ludwig's tastes, but so far, everything here was.

Dinner was already being served when Ludwig walked inside the room, but only a few people sat at the table. A few young women, one wearing her hair in a braid over her shoulder, another obviously foreign girl with tanned skin and dark hair. A man … or rather … fairy, sitting with a child in his lap. Francis sat at the head of the table, "Ah, Ludwig, my guest, come, have a seat and enjoy the wonderful meal I've had laid out for us."

Ludwig nodded and took a seat. The child sitting in the blond man's lap looked at him with bright blue eyes.

"That is my gorgeous little daughter, Jeanne the second, but we call her Jay for short." Francis explained.

"Oh, she … looks just like you …?" Ludwig commented, slightly awkward. He didn't know what one should say in a situation.

Francis laughed, much to the confusion of the people around him who apparently didn't speak Gartyrarren, "No, no … she looks just like her mother … by the way," he said, lightening the mood a bit, "This is Mattie, Chelles and Monica. The first two are my faithful servants and Monica is a diplomat from a smaller kingdom south of here by the sea. They don't speak Gartyrarren, but Mattie can speak Evennian, Fayldyren and Sverran~ isn't that just amazing of him? Chelles can speak Evennian and Fayldyren."

Ludwig frowned. He only knew a small bit of Evennian since that and Gartyrarren were so similar. He knew only a little bit of Fayldyren and it's only what few phrases he'd picked up in his days of traveling through the kingdom.

Dinner was silent, and slightly awkward with a toddler staring at him the entire meal and no one understood a word he said except for Francis and he wasn't a very fun conversational partner.

He gripped his fork and swallowed hard, dreading the question that he'd been holding at the tip of his tongue for a while now. Ludwig frowned, "Your majesty-"

"Please, call me Francis, or big brother~ we're practically family!"

The notion scared Ludwig, but he pressed on, "Francis … you wouldn't have, by chance, seen Feliciano … have you? Has he been through here?"

Francis fell silent and stared at his plate, guilt ridden, "Actually … he was here … poor thing showed up on my doorstep utterly confused, lost and starving … I fed and clothed him, took him in and then … that dragon attacked … Feli was his hostage this time … I'm afraid … we're never going to see him again."

Ludwig frowned, feeling anger and rage bubbling up, "What do you mean by that? We just go to Ryven and find the snow dragon that took him."

"Ludwig … I know the king of Evenna quite well … he had gone on a journey with me across the sea to Alverynia. There, we discovered land and Mattie and his twin brother, Alfred. Both were irresistible and we each took one as a servant.

"Mattie came with me and Alfred with Arthur." Mattie, who had no idea what they were actually saying, shifted uncomfortably at the mention of his brother's name. He rose from the table, taking Jay with him.

"Arthur had been invited to my wedding some years ago, but the reception had been crashed by this same dragon. His hostage was Alfred. Arthur has been searching for years and with all of his resources, he has yet to find the dragon that kidnapped his servant. Alfred was presumed dead a few months ago, but Arthur has not given up hope. I'd say speak with him and get what he knows. Ryven is a very large wasteland of nothing but snow dragons, ice fairies, and blizzards … it would take you years upon years to search all of it … if you didn't die first."

Ludwig stood up and sighed, "Then I guess I'll be off in the morning to Evenna. Thank you for your hospitality." he growled lightly, heading back to his room.


	8. Evenna

Morning came too soon for the Gartyrarren man. He awoke with the sun and yawned, climbing out of bed. After washing up and putting on some better traveling clothing, the man sought to thank Francis once more. He received a traveling pack with food and gold.

"In hopes you find him before it's too late."

Ludwig nodded, vowing to find the young man and then he was off. Ludwig began to lose track of time as he walked and hitched rides further up north, towards the seas, but he knew summer was now setting in and spring had long passed, when he'd last been in Sverran.

A ship brought him across the small strait that separated the Fayldyren kingdom and the Evennian one. Most of the time, one did not want to live anywhere near the area or be caught dead traveling between the two countries, as they fought often. In fact, Ludwig recalled some time ago that they were in a war even now. He sighed, hoping that rumors of the war's ending were true.

By sunset, the ship was docked, letting the passengers onto the earth of Evenna. He looked around, wondering what his next step was. He looked around at the people around him and watched as they met up with family, began walking down the dusty road that led out of the small port village or just stood like he was, looking for what was next.

Ludwig sighed. His first move was to find where the capital of Evenna was.

"Excuse me …" he asked in Evennian to an old woman running a fruit stand, "Can you tell me which way the capital is?"

Her aged eyes looked up at him and narrowed slightly, yet the woman didn't speak. Ludwig shifted his pack and tried again, "Can you help me?"

"I can." she stated simply. The woman leaned forward slowly and grabbed Ludwig's hand. Her finger tips gently brushed over the creases in his skin and she frowned deeply, "A long journey waits ahead of you. Perilous … dangerous … all for the uncertainty of a lover … fate will lead you through mysterious places and work for you in equally mysterious ways.

"But it will all end up-"

"I do not believe in such things." Ludwig stated, yanking his hand away, an embarrassed flush on his cheeks, "If you can't point me to the capital, that's fine, but I don't believe in fate or this palm reading …"

The woman looked him over with slight anger in her worn eyes, "I see. The king's castle is a two days journey north-west of here."

Ludwig frowned lightly at the thought of a long journey on foot, but turned his attention to the old woman, "Thank you."

He turned to walk away from her but her hand shot out and grabbed his, "Your eyes … they tell me so much pain and suffering … be careful out there, for the path you take isn't going to be an easy one. It would do you some good to listen to your heart and not just logic."

Ludwig said nothing more, but he nodded as he walked away, towards the holding place of Arthur, king of Evenna.

As predicted, it took him two days to walk all the way to the castle, having only stopped for water and a short rest. The sooner he got help for getting into Ryven, the sooner he could finally set things right with Feliciano.

The castle was lively with people rushing around doing this and that, seemingly getting prepared for something. His blue eyes peered into the courtyard and he sighed, looking over at the guards guarding the gate.

"State your name and business!" one of the men yelled at Ludwig as he approached. He barely understood what they said, but he got the gist of what it was.

"Ludwig Beilschmidt." He said, "And I'm here for Arthur." He spoke slowly, hoping the words were coming out alright.

The man glared and started ranting about something involving the words 'King Arthur to you' and a bunch of stuff Ludwig didn't really understand therefore didn't find as offensive as they probably were.

"Sorry, I only speak Gartyrarren." He spoke in their language, then reverting to his own, "I need to speak with your king about some important business about Ryven." Hoping at least one of them understood him. Unfortunately, they seemed lost when he spoke in his native tongue, but obviously they recognized 'Ryven'.

The one man said something to another and the guard rushed off, bringing yet another man along with him.

"I have been called upon to act as in interpreter for you, sir." He stated simply.

"Thank you," Ludwig started, "I'm here to seek an audience with your king about Ryven. I've heard he knows quite a bit about the snow dragon and its whereabouts. Someone I know was taken by the same dragon and any information he has can be vital to my search, as well as my skills may be of some use to him as well. I'm willing to do anything."

The man seemed to think it over a bit, "Remove any weapons you hold and allow one of our men to hold onto them for you and I shall take you to see his majesty."

The Gartyrarren nodded and removed his sword, as well as hidden daggers, then handed the guard his only pack. Once they checked him over for anything dangerous, he was allowed to follow the translator into the castle. It was quite different from the ones he had encountered before, a different look about it and even the cloth hung as drapes was different.

There was an odd look about it, but he felt familiar with the surroundings, as if it were possible he'd seen something like it before. It seemed it was the structure and architecture of the building that made him feel at home here.

They entered a war room and there stood a man with blonde hair and green eyes. He stared at the large map, circling some parts and crossing others out. He mumbled to himself.

Ludwig's translator said something in Evennian and Arthur looked up, slight anger in his eyes, most likely from being disturbed. When he spoke, Ludwig barely understood any of the words, of course, but he knew there was some anger in them. The translator said something calm back and Arthur's expression lightened up some. He looked back down at the map sadly and whispered some words.

"Wait here. He says he'll speak to you." The man walked from the war room, leaving Ludwig very confused.

Arthur crossed the room and grabbed a dusty book and opened it up to a page written in a language Ludwig didn't even recognize. It certainly wasn't Evennian.

The king began muttering to himself as he grabbed a small jar and filled it with a clear liquid. He motioned for Ludwig to step closer, upon which the knight nodded and walked closer. Arthur snatched some of his hair, causing Ludwig to hiss and grab at his stinging scalp.

"What the hell was that for?" he growled in his own language. It was assumed that Arthur didn't understand, as he continued to play with the jar. He dropped the hair into the liquid and grabbed a small letter opener and held out his hand for Ludwig's. Hesitantly, Ludwig offered up his hand.

The crazed king pricked his finger and let several drops of Ludwig's blood fall into the mixture, turning it a pale pink.

Then, Arthur drew a strange circle around the jar, with several of the strange letters seen in the book. He grabbed two candles and lit them, setting them in two of the circles within the larger circle. Finally, he began muttering something in the strange language. The flames of the candles went to a dark blue color and began creating a lot of grey, wispy smoke. Said smoke circled around the jar, turning the mixture into a dark black muck. It bubbled and Ludwig would be lying if he said this didn't fill him with a sense of fear.

Smoke entered the jar and the mixture stopped bubbling. Arthur finished speaking and reached into the jar, pulling out a small stone. Etched into it was the design of one of the letters he'd seen on the book. Arthur searched his desk drawers for something and when he found the thick ropey like cord, he tied it to the stone, making it a necklace. He walked over to Ludwig and placed it over his head, "There, now, that's better!"

Ludwig jumped in shock. He understood the king in perfect Gartyrarren, despite the man's lips not moving in those words.

"What is this?" he asked, grabbing the stone, which was warm.

"It's ancient magic. I created something that would take my words and make them in your language. It is really quite useful. I always wear mine." He pulled a similar stone out of his shirt, "Now, Victor has told me you wish to help get into Ryven and hunt down that dragon?" the Evennian king's eyes turned dark.

Ludwig nodded, "Yes. That dragon took someone very important to me. If it gets your help, I'm willing to collaborate and possibly save your lost one as well. I am a Gartyrarren knight. I know more than enough about killing dragons and I'm sure I can be efficient in your cause."

"So I see." Arthur muttered, walking back over to the large map, "We've already sectioned off several areas … My men have been disguised there for a very long time and we've seen no sign of the dragon, nor his humanoid form. There's just a few places left to look, but there's a reason we've not been able to get through there before. Snow and ice are constant downfalls to my men. I can't keep sending them there. With the war against that frog over with, I have focused them onto this task. They are tired and done and I won't send them away from their families any more. You and I and a few hand chosen men will be going at it alone.

"If I die, that is a risk I'm willing to take. I've already written who will take my throne in my absence and should I die. If you have a family, sir knight, I'd advise you to say your goodbyes, either to them or this mission." Arthur's green eyes bore into Ludwig's.

Ludwig nodded, but opened his mouth to ask a question, "I have only one question. I've heard that this Alfred was merely your servant. Why go through so much to get him back? Surely there are other servants around."

Arthur laughed a sad, dark laugh, "You may not understand … he was more than that to me. The bugger crawled under my skin and into my heart … I hate him with everything I've got, don't get me wrong … but people do crazy things for the ones they love." He muttered, going off into another world. Then his face heated up and he glared, "But it's none of your damn business! Now, my men will supply your with warm clothing and suitable armor. Tonight, after supper, I shall go over the plans with you and then when we are ready, we shall set off."

Ludwig nodded once more, letting the king know he was understood.

It was several days before they were sure they were ready to head into the cold snow and heavily blocked off area.

The journey there was nothing special. Arthur didn't speak much about Alfred, nor did he talk about anything that wasn't about the mission and plan.

They would sneak through the snow and ice, using some of Arthur's special magic to keep them warm, as they searched area X, one of the last places he'd chosen to look. If they found the dragon, they would fight him and search for the prisoners. If the dragon happened to not be there, they would make quick work of finding Alfred and Feliciano and anyone else that might possibly be held captive by the snow dragon.

"Here we are, the border of area X." Arthur muttered, staring out into the desolate tundra like area. Thick blankets of snow covered everything, and more was falling with the heavy winds.

"Remember, you can turn back now." Arthur spoke to his men, "But if you choose to go with me, then let us go." A round of cheers came from the handful of men and they pushed forward through the snow.

Ludwig was thankful to the magic. He was used to snow and cold, having grown up in cold places, but this was unreal. Had it not been for the warming stone in his pocket, he's probably have frozen here.

It only brought on a sense of dread. He was used to cold weather. Feliciano had trouble in lightly snowy mountains. Would the man, so used to warm weather, be able to handle it out here? It seemed things were looking bleak. Their mission, from the moment they left the castle, to the moment they discovered a snowy fortress, standing in the middle of nowhere, had totaled up to be two full months.

Ludwig was losing hope that Feliciano was even still alive, but he had to be sure. He had to save him.

"I wasn't expecting a castle ..." Arthur whispered, kneeling down beside Ludwig at the edge of what seemed to be a rather large labyrinth of snow, "Especially not one made of ice."

"It is strange, but if it's out here in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by more snow than anywhere else, then it can be assumed someone important lives here, if not the dragon himself." Ludwig reasoned. I'll sneak into the castle, you wait on the outside as backup if I need it. That way, I can at least hold off the dragon and the prisoners can escape. If I don't make it, make sure Feliciano gets back to Sverran to find his brother."

Arthur opened his mouth to counter, but it seemed reasonable. Ludwig wanted to risk his life for not only Feliciano, but Alfred as well. He would give up himself to make sure the other two got out to safety and could at leave have protection out of the castle as well.

It took a few hours, but the men made their way through the labyrinth.

Finally, they stood at the entrance to the large castle. "Alright, you sure about this Ludwig?"

The Gartyrarren nodded, "Yes. Remember, get out of here as soon as they are here. If I make it out, I'll find my way back on my own. If anything, thank you for getting me this far."

Arthur nodded, "Of course. Good luck in there."

Ludwig nodded and snuck up to the large ice castle. He was trying to figure out a way inside, "Damnit!" he muttered, not finding an obvious entrance.

"Looking f-for a way in?" a soft voice behind him said.

He quickly turned to see a young man, or rather, snow fairy standing on the ground. His had shoulder length brown hair, which turned ice blue at the tips. His green eyes focused nervously onto Ludwig. His ice blue gossamer wings shimmered, showing off the snowflake pattern in them. Unlike Ludwig or any human that would step foot in the area, he was dressed in simple clothing, something ordinary creatures would freeze in. However, it showed off the ice like color on his shoulders, hands and cheeks.

"Yes, yes I am. And you are?"

"Toris … I work for Lord Ivan, the master of this castle. Why are you here?" the snow fairy asked.

"I'm here for a friend, who was kidnapped. I'm not sure if this is where he's being held captive, but I have to find out." The knight explained himself, "I'm Ludwig, a knight in search of an Alfred Jones and Feliciano Vargas."

Toris nodded, "That was my master that took them. I can lead you to the wing where they are being kept, if you would like. But you have to get me, Eduard and Raivis out, too. If we could only get passed the labyrinth, we can show you how to escape fast to a friend of mine, a snow dragon further out east. He can take me and my friends in, while you and your friends escape to wherever you're going."

"Deal." Ludwig agreed, "Though, I might not make it out of here alive. There's a man here, waiting for the two I mentioned before. If you tell him Ludwig sent you, he should be able to help you if I can't."

Toris nodded and walked up to a part of the wall, about three big steps away from Ludwig and pressed his hand to the wall. The ice began to fold apart in an unusual way, revealing an entrance to the castle.

"You must be very quiet from this point on. If Ivan or either of his sisters find out about you, they will not hesitate to attack." Toris explained, leading the Gartyrarren into the ice castle. The inside was much warmer that the outside, surprisingly enough, considering it was made of ice. He stared in awe as some of the ice was thick and opaque, while other parts were completely clear, revealing the outside, almost as if they were glass windows.

Fifteen minutes later, Toris had led Ludwig into a dark hall, where light blue flames kept the hall barely lit, "I don't often come down this way … but if they are anywhere, it'll be the last room on the left. I'm going to find Eduard and Raivis and get them outside. I will see you there. Just followed the snowflake path to get out of the castle." Toris placed his hand on Ludwig's forehead and Ludwig shivered at the cold sensation, but when his eyes opened, he was able to see the Toris had left a trail of large glowing snowflakes on the ground, previously unseen.

"Only you will be able to see them, so anyone else will be none the wiser to this escape ploy. Please don't get caught." Toris quickly raced down a hallway and out of sight.

Ludwig turned back to the hall he faced and licked his lip. He had to get to that room.


	9. Ice Castle in Ryven

Ludwig raced down the hall, hoping his run would go unheard by anyone else in the castle. He finally arrived at the door, previously mentioned by Toris. If worse came to worse, he was walking into the dragon's lair. However, that meant he would be able to face the creature head on and hopefully take it down.

He broke open the door to reveal a young man with sandy blonde hair and ocean blue eyes staring up at the ceiling while resting beside a fire, which wasn't melting the ice it rested in.

Said man looked up at Ludwig, "Who are you? Some new person he got? Sucks to be you. You might be here for a long time. I'm Alfred F. Jones!"

"Alfred?" so this was the fairy that Arthur was looking for. But … there were no wings.

"Yeah, you got a name?" The fairy sat up and began rubbing his hands together to warm them by the fire.

Ludwig remembered the small bag he'd been handed full of warming stones for all possible escapees. He reached for it and plucked one from the bag, "Here, it's a gift."

Alfred caught the stone and an odd smile came over his face, "A warming stone … you're not a captured victim are you?"

Ludwig shook his head, "No, I'm not and I'm here to get you out. Do you know where A Feliciano Vargas may be being kept?"

The fairy slipped the stone into his pocket and stood up, "That guy? The one with the broken necklace and the weird hair? Brother to that weird kid I met a long time ago?"

"Yes …" Ludwig didn't know why, but his heart skipped a beat.

"He's not here anymore … sorry, dude …" Alfred shrugged, grabbed a small cloth and setting some things inside it to carry the stuff out with.

Ludwig felt anger wash over him, "What do you mean 'he's not here'?"

"He managed to escape a few weeks ago… haven't seen him since."

The Gartyrarren didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Feliciano had escaped? Into the wintery nothingness? He would freeze out there! He … probably already had.

"Dude was serious about getting out. Said he was going south." Alfred explained.

Ludwig nodded, "Okay, thank you. Let's get you out of here. Are there any other prisoners?"

"Just one, but he likes it here. Besides, he's treated like royalty here … especially since he is … he wouldn't want to leave." Alfred muttered.

"Okay." Ludwig walked to the door, only to have Alfred grab him and place a hand over his mouth.

"He'll be back soon, dear older sister. When that happens, I'll talk to him again." A female voice echoed down the hall.

"A-are you sure about that? You still want to marry him?" another feminine voice asked.

"Of course! He's perfect and strong and we will make strong, glorious children. A lot better than the brat his lover now carries."

"Oh … promise me you won't do anything to him or the baby? You know how protective Ivan is …"

Silence followed as the footsteps echoed further down the hall, "Fine. For now. The child is innocent, but the mermaid has to die."

"Natalia!"

The voices disappeared and Alfred let out a sigh, "That's the only reason I've been safe for so long … Ivan managed to kidnap himself the king of the mermaids sometime before your friend came along … He usually toys with us, torture and what were not uncommon. However, Yao comes along and at first, stayed in the room with the rest of the victims, but then after some time, he began leaving me alone and then Yao was moved to a different room entirely.

"Did you know all mermaids, no matter what gender, can get pregnant? Yao explained it to me. Their species has become so far and few between that their ancestors looked into alternative methods of reproduction. They found the magic and now it's ingrained into their being. Males with other males, females and males and even two females … I found it pretty cool, you know? 'Cause Arthur was once looking into magic like that." Alfred rambled, grabbing up his pack.

"Well, my point is, that's why it's useless trying to convince Yao to leave, so … yeah, let's go. Yekaterina and Natalia should be gone now, so we should hurry."

Ludwig nodded and slowly opened the door to make sure the coast was clear, before sneaking out with the fairy. He tiptoed down the hall with Alfred and finally made it to the last hall, where the opening to the outside was.

It was almost too easy. Ludwig had a sudden feeling of dread, "Go, just make a break for it, don't turn back!" he shoved Alfred toward the exit.

Alfred yelped, "What about y-"

"Just go now!" Ludwig shouted just as the halls began to shake. Alfred frowned, but nodded and took off down the hall into the snowy outside.

As Alfred disappeared, a rather large off white, almost cream colored dragon made his appearance. The large beast with amethyst eyes let out a loud roar and reared back his head. Ludwig recognized this behavior and drew his sword and bit his lip. As long as Alfred made it out. As predicted, the dragon opened his massive maw.

Ludwig quickly ducked behind an ice statue as the dragon let out a huge torrent of snow and ice.

The knight waited it out, before hurrying out from the hiding spot and ducking under the dragon's head to take a slice at his arm. The sword, specially designed for such combat, sliced easily into the flesh, right through the scales.

Ivan let out a roar, and hissed, rearing back on his hind legs. He turned and swung his large tail, hitting Ludwig in the chest. The Gartyrarren knight was flung into a wall. He coughed hard, trying to gain back his breath. He struggled to stand up, cursing himself for forgetting to watch for the tails. Had he seriously been out of battle that long? It had been at least three months since his last encounter with anything dangerous, like this.

Ludwig bit his lip and managed to dodge another blast of freezing snow and ice the dragon let forth, but once again was not wary of the tail. He was swept off of his feet and had the breath knocked out of him again. The tail whipped up high and was falling back down to smash into the knight. He raised his sword but everything froze when a voice called out.

"Stop!" Ivan stopped, Ludwig stopped and both turned to look to the side.

A young looking man with long black hair stood in the entrance to the hall. He wore a long red robe and he had the telltale features of the merpeople in the east, thin bodies, slanted eyes and lightly tanned skin.

Was this the Yao that Alfred spoke of?

"Ivan … let him go." The man spoke softly, but firmly.

The dragon looked at Ludwig, sniffed the air, growled, then walked over to Yao and surrounded him, growling in a softly, almost purr.

Yao let his hand rest on Ivan's head, "You have no need to get into a fight. It's pointless and you'll get hurt." The merman, in human form, rested his hand against the large bleeding wound in the dragon's arm.

Warm dark eyes looked up and were instantly cold, "You, leave now. You've done enough damage here."

Ludwig nodded and picked himself up off the floor and stumbled from the castle. The group that was standing there, getting ready to leave, looked up and Arthur rushed over to him.

"I can't thank you enough for going through with this mission. You've done more good than you'll ever know."

Ludwig nodded and noticed that Toris and two other Snow Fairies were with the group, already pushing through into the labyrinth to escape.

The small group quickly made their way through the labyrinth. Once on the outside, Ludwig turned back to look at the castle. Two cream colored dragons rested on the top of the castle, both smaller than the one he fought.

They growled lowly and slipped away.

"Well, Alfred told me about your friend … are you …?" Arthur left the sentence unfinished.

Ludwig sighed, "I have to go south … find out if he survived the snow."

"I see." Arthur said, "I thank you again. This mission might not have been a success without you. You have my gratitude. Do let me know sometime in the future how I can repay you."

The knight nodded and said his goodbyes before turning to the direction of south. With the warming stone, Ludwig found it easier to traverse the snow and desolate areas.

About two months passed before he found his way out of Ryven and into the southern areas. This is where he lost Feliciano's trail. No one had seen that particular tanned man with golden eyes because several men and women fit the description.

He spent several months in the islands, searching, looking, trying anything to pick up a trail. With the knowledge that Feliciano had made it that far, and was not frozen, he had forced himself to continue on.


	10. Extyr

Dry. Heat … water? Sand … dry … sun … Ludwig stumbled through the desert as he had for the last several days. Once he left the islands, he'd crossed the southern seas and ended up somewhere near Extyr. He left the port city with a good amount of water and hopes that Feliciano had come down this way, as the ferryman knew who he had been talking about. He claimed he'd brought the Illonian over.

So he knew he had to look. However, he wasn't expecting to get lost. Nor had he expected running out of food. Yet, the worst part was running out of water two days prior. Ludwig's mouth was utterly dry and he wasn't feeling good.

"Luddy?"

He turned his head quickly and saw a coppery haired angel of hope in the distance.

"Fe-Feliciano!?" Ludwig felt something bubble up in his stomach. Maybe it was the thought of being able to apologize, or possibly the fact that the man was alive.

"Luddy …" he heard it again.

"My god, you're alive …" the knight whispered running even closer. His stomach was doing flips over and over again as he got closer to the Illonian.

Feliciano smiled warmly and opened his arms to welcome Ludwig into them.

Ludwig made the final gap and went to wrap his arms around Feliciano … only to have the Illonian fade completely and disappear. He looked around desperately, "Feliciano!" he called out, but there was no answer. Had he just been an illusion?

"Feliciano!?" he yelled out again, his mind wavering, his vision starting to blacken from the over exertion of energy spent running up to the mirage.

"Feli …" he fell to his knees, "Fe…" he hit the ground, lying down in the sand, "Ita …"

Then his entire world went black.

His dreams were filled with random things … snow dragons taunting him with a pregnant lover that he obviously cared for … a king holding desperately to the fairy he risked his life and several years of time to find … a copper hair, honey eyed girl who stood in the spring amongst lovely trees, with sunlight barely filtering through. She then turns and it's actually Feliciano standing there, smiling and holding up a small gift for Ludwig.

It's crystal clean water. Ludwig goes to drink it down, but once again finds himself at his mother's side as she lay dying.

"Take good care of her."

"I love her. She's perfect and cute and even though she's an absolute mess sometimes, she's always there to listen …"

"Take good care of her."

"Horoem?" his eyes widened and he'd never been so happy to hear that nickname.

"Ita!" he turned to see him. "I'm so happy to see you! I'm so sorry I haven't been around so much … I was busy and then winter and my mutti …"

"I thought you hated me …" he cried.

"Never!" he frowned, "I could never hate you!" he stood up and pulled out the crosses and slipped one over his head, "Mutti said you give these to someone special … like a promise you can never break. When a man cares about someone a lot, he's supposed to make this in hopes that they will one day get married and never have to be apart again." he frowned, "Ita, I have to go away for a while. I'm going back up north, but I promise I'll come back to you!" his face became red, "I love you …" he whispered, leaning his forehead to Feliciano's.

"I love you …"

"A promise …"

"I could never hate you …"

"I love you."

His eyes opened and he stared up at a bunch of sheer fabric twisted above him, in reds and golds and purples and black. Ludwig rubbed at his eyes and groaned, feeling a massive headache filling his skull to the brim.

"Oh!" Ludwig looked over and saw a young man, short black hair cropped close to his head. His eyes were a dull brown color and he wore a strange robe.

The man grabbed up Ludwig's stuff and handed it to him. Ludwig nodded as a thank you and sat up to sift through the stuff. He found his clothing, which seemed to have been washed from all the sweat and sand. He also found the warming stone and a few other things he'd been given or collected over time. In the pile of stuff, there was also his language pendant and the iron cross, which he quickly put both over his neck.

"Where am I?" Ludwig asked the man.

He squeaked lightly, "Um … Extryr's Palace … the prince was on a walk to the oasis of Arun and he stumbled upon you, saving your life … you've been out cold, in my care, for four days now."

"Ah, I see …" Ludwig spoke, rubbing his head.

"I'm Kiku, I'm in charge of the harem here …" he said, shame filling his voice, as if he didn't like his job.

"Ludwig, knight on a mission."

"I see," Kiku nodded, "Well, lunch will be served in the main dining hall soon and my prince has requested that you join him for the next meal available when you awake." Kiku stood from the end of the bed, "Now, there is an indoor pool through this curtain where you can wash up if you feel the need. There's clothing, if you want to wear something more comfortable and less worn, in this chest here. I'll be in the room across from this one if you need me." He bowed and left the room.

The Gartyrarren knight rose from his bed, noticing he was wearing nothing more than his undergarments. With a light blush on his face, he walked to the pool room, as Kiku had pointed out. The room was large with a square hole in the ground filled with crystal clear water. It was decorated in tiles that were painted in all kinds of colorful designs. The walls were a cream color, which matched the sand assuredly outside of the palace. It was decorated in strange pictures or creatures and people that looked as if they told a story, one that Ludwig couldn't quite make out.

He slipped off the undergarments and stepped into the cool water and sat down. The man began washing the sweat from his hair.

Thoughts once again flooded his mind. How long had Feliciano known that Ludwig was Horoem? Did he figure it out at the same time? Or was it something that he was waiting for the right moment to talk to him about?

Ludwig sighed and swept his wet hair back against his head and leaned back on the ledge in the pool.

He still didn't know how he was going to explain himself to Feliciano when he met him again … which also brought up that point again. Could he seriously seek a relationship with him now that he knew he was a man?

Honestly, when he thought of him … there were feelings … so maybe he could work at it? There were all kinds of men around him, no matter what their species of status, were able to love … and those memories Ludwig had … those dreams … the spoke so much of his old devotion to Feliciano. He remembered clearly the feeling of dread when he thought he would never be able to see him again, not give him the necklace that bonded them together forever …

He remembered admitting his feelings to his mother about the child that stole his heart. Would she still want him to take care of Feliciano and love him? Of course … he didn't have but those few memories of her, but still. She seemed like a sincere woman who loved her sons and wanted their happiness.

Was there even a problem with being with Feliciano? The Illonian had even stated that his true love had given him the necklace … and that his fiancé was supposed to come back for him.

Ludwig sighed and rose from the water. It wouldn't matter if he didn't find a way of getting back on the man's trail again. Who knew Feliciano, who couldn't make it against a naga, could traverse all around the world, through a dragon attack, blizzard weather, a dessert and who knows what else?

He looked through the chest mentioned earlier and found the clothing was far too casual for his tastes, but was better than what he had been wearing for who knows how long. It had to have been two or three more months traveling from Ryven.

That made it about five months total so far … that he'd been searching for Feliciano … what if Feliciano had already found another person to love? What would Ludwig do then?

He couldn't help but feel a bit of a twist in his stomach at that thought.

After dressing, he did a bit of stretching for his sore muscles. A knock came at his door and he looked over, "Come in."

Kiku walked in and looked at him, "Are you ready? Lunch is being served shortly."

Ludwig nodded and slipped on some sandals he'd found in the chest.

On the way down to the dining hall, Ludwig got a really good look at the palace he was staying in. in was elegant in an ancient sort of way. The building seemed to be standing strong, but at the same time, it was well worn. Some of the pictures on the walls were fading out slightly, while the curtains and tapestries were fraying at the edges.

It was actually quite amazing, though. All of it struck a nerve with him and he felt like he had to explore a bit more and learn everything he could.

"Here we are, Mr. Ludwig." Kiku stopped at a large beaded entrance. He pushed through and led Ludwig through the threshold and into the glorious dining hall. Large open windows showed the city below the palace. The windows didn't have glass, but there was a sheer fabric hanging over them. Two of the five were drawn back.

Three men sat at the large table. One wore a headdress made of a silky white fabric and golden circlet resting on top. His gold eyes darted up to meet Ludwig's.

The second of the three was a man wearing a rather decorative outfit, complete with a mask, covering his eyes and a fabric covering his mouth. Ludwig honestly didn't like the air around the man, but ignored it.

Finally, the last man was … actually asleep with his head down on the table. He wore simple clothing, loose fitting and comfortable. There was a little white and grey cat on his shoulder, also asleep, while another cat, a black and white bobtail, sat in the table before him, looking around.

"You must be famished." The man wearing the headdress spoke softly, his voice barely audible. There was an odd looking dog with large ears sitting beside the man. The dog wore a golden necklace, "Please have a seat."

Ludwig nodded and sat down in the chair beside the sleeping man.

"Care to introduce yourself?" the masked man asked, "We've only saved your life."

"Sorry, my name is Ludwig. I'm a knight from Gartyrarren on a mission." The man explained, still unsure about how one acted in Extyr. He was also unsure of which one was the prince, if any of them even were.

The masked man nodded, "I'm Sadiq Adnan, military leader. This lug is Herakles… he's not important. Finally," he motioned to the man with the dog, "is Prince Gupta, of Extyr."

"I'm honored to meet you." Ludwig stated, not wishing to offend the man who saved his life, giving him a second chance at finding Feliciano.

"Well, now that those formalities have been taken care of, let us eat!" Sadiq clapped his hands, causing several scantily clad women in strange outfits to come walking in with large trays of food. Some of the food items, Ludwig had never even seen before. Though, he couldn't deny, it looked delicious.


	11. Zahrah

Ludwig had never seen women dressed in such a way before. They wore strange tops that covered barely their breasts, while their pants or skirts hung low on their hips and were very loose fitting and flowy. Several of them wore headdresses and masks.

"You like?" Sadiq asked, laughing, "They are very exotic. Though, they aren't what you might think they are for. We appreciate the beauty they provide and we provide them a refuge. Their homes have been destroyed by war, fires, and an influx of dragons.

"This city is protected by an ancient magic put in place by the former queen of Extyr and her greatest friend, her handmaiden of Giryll."

"My mother and Herekles' mother used the ancient magic several years ago when the dragon began attacking the far reaches of my mother's kingdom … it wasn't very far reaching, but it was there for protection of who needed it most …" Gupta started, "They died giving their power and energy to the protection ...

"It stops dragons and other deadly creatures from entering the large area surrounding the river … while the people from further out can come here to take refuge …"

Sadiq nodded, "We offer what jobs we can to those who need them. Hence the reason so many girls walk this building. They cannot work in the hot desert during the day, like women raised in this city since birth, nor can they be of any use to an already overcrowded city.

"We provide food and shelter, for their work and beauty." He finished up, watching the last of the girls set down the final tray. She slipped up and sent the bowl of fruit scattering the table.

Ludwig had begun to think the man, Sadiq, was humbled and kind toward these women in need, but he rose from his chair and raised his hand to slap her. She flinched and turned away, but he did not bring the fist down. Instead he sat back down, "Watch it."

She nodded. Ludwig noticed none of the other women in the room seemed to stumble or mess up the way she did, therefore they didn't get threatened like the other one.

This girl wore a blue top, sequined with black and silvery beads. It branched off on one side and crossed down over her stomach and met up with the matching belt like slip around her waist. Coming off of that was a two or three layer flowing dress. The top, outermost layer was made of a sheer fabric with sequins at the bottom. Wrapped around her face was a sequined veil, hiding everything but her eyes and hair, which was long and light brownish color. However, she didn't look up from the floor.

She quickly made her way to Kiku, who wrapped his arms around her waist lightly, leading her to the back of the room.

"Damnit … I don't know where Kiku picked that one up, but she is the worst." Sadiq growled, getting another girl to clean up the mess.

Ludwig nodded and turned to look at the girl and Kiku. She was being comforted for a moment, looking up for the first time since she'd entered the room.

"Make yourself useful and serve our new guest, Zahrah!" Sadiq called out. Immediately, she froze and with a bit of encouragement from Kiku, she followed orders and walked up to the table. "That's a good girl. Maybe you can bother him for a while …"

She only nodded and placed things on a plate for Ludwig. The knight just sighed.

"So, what did you say you were doing in the desert again?"

"On a mission." Ludwig spoke, "Trying to find someone extremely important to me."

Zahrah dropped the plate, spilling the food into Ludwig's lap. He jumped back and began cleaning himself up. She squeaked but a loud smack noise echoed through the dining hall.

Ludwig looked up to see Sadiq had slapped Zahrah across the face. She was trembling and looking as if she was about to fall apart.

"Get out of my sight. You're so damn clumsy." Sadiq growled lowly, "Just make sure you don't mess up again like this for our guest. I'm not above throwing you out."

Zahrah nodded and quickly left the room.

"I'm sorry about that, Ludwig." Sadiq apologized, "Kiku brought her in quite some time ago and ever since that moment she showed up, she's been nothing but trouble. She doesn't speak and she is always way too distracted to cook or clean. Worthless thing. At least the other girls we take in know how to not destroy things."

Ludwig chose not to say anything, but he realized there was someone here that was in trouble and as a knight, he would have to push his personal mission aside to save her. It was his obligation … he'd taken this on as his duty … but … his mind drifted to Feliciano. That bright smile, those beautiful eyes … how long had it been since he'd seen them? Had it been a year? Yes … it had … and entire year or maybe even more. He'd honestly lost count in Ryven …

How long would this mission go on until he couldn't keep going? It had been lucky that he'd found an islander in Giryll that had known the very man he spoke of. Would he be so lucky now? The further south they went, the more dragons would appear in their natural territory.

"So, Ludwig, tell me, what will you do when you find this person?" Gupta asked, sipping his drink.

Ludwig thought it over, "Tell him I'm sorry. Take him home … put everything behind us." He sighed. Tell him I …

"You fought?"

"By accident … there was a misunderstanding. He thinks I hate him, when in fact, I don't. The anger I showed that day was toward someone who didn't exist, but I didn't know it at the time. He thought it was toward him. He ran away and now I must find him." The knight explained, finally taking his first bite into his food. It had an exotic flavor about it, like much of the food he'd been eating all throughout his adventure in the south and the islands.

Gupta looked up from his meal, "Are you enjoying the food?"

Ludwig nodded, swallowing his bite, "Of course. I have taken a liking to the food I taste around these areas."

"Good."

"Can I ask you a question?"

Gupta looked a bit taken aback, "Yes."

"Why did you save me from dying out there? I'm obviously not from around here, not one of your people. You have no real reason, at least obvious, to save me and take me in, allow me to eat from the same table as you… Don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful to you and your men, but I must know if there was a reason."

Several moments passed before the prince answered this question. He set down his napkin and folded his hands, "I saved you because you are a living being. I detest any type of death that has a chance of being changed.

"I saw you lying in the desert, dying, and it was as my mother taught me, I must help you. I brought you back to be recovered. Unlike many of the kings before me, I do not care for my wealth, but rather my people. I'd spend it all feeding them if they weren't already a strong people down there." He looked out one of the open windows and watched a moment as the people went about their daily lives.

"Being not of my people doesn't matter to me. I help anyone I can." He muttered the last part softly, before returning to his meal.

Ludwig sat in silence for the longest time, just eating his food. When he finished, he looked at Gupta and nodded his head in respect, "Thank you. I believe your views are amazing and I must agree completely… helping those in need when they need it is most important."

The Extyryn prince nodded, glad to hear that Ludwig agreed, "Oh, and stay as long as you please. When you are ready to leave, let Kiku know. He'll be able to prepare you some supplies for the trip out. Until then, he'll also let you know when we hold meals." He rose to leave.

Sadiq followed after him. When they were gone, Ludwig stood up and looked around at the women who began cleaning the table off. All of them honestly looked pleased to be there. To be honest, he believed they were. Working in a palace and having everything you wanted in life seemed to be better than risking facing a dragon.

Kiku walked up and gently shook Herakles awake, "You slept through lunch." He spoke softly.

The man sat up completely and confused and rubbed his eyes, before petting one of the cats, "Oh I did, didn't I?" he looked at Ludwig with his olive colored eyes, "You … you're awake. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, I'm Ludwig." He wondered about something, "I have a question for you two. I honestly won't be staying here too much longer now that I'm recuperated and can get back to my mission, but do either of you know of a man about this tall," he held up his hand to about Feliciano's height, "Coppery red hair and golden honey brown eyes? He goes by the name Feliciano Vargas."

Kiku and Herakles remained stone faced, staring at Ludwig. Kiku finally spoke up, "He was here once … but now is not the time to talk of such things. If you are determined to leave, I will get you some supplies together. Feel free to wander the gardens, the palace, anywhere you like." The smaller man gently urged him to leave the dining hall.

Ludwig frowned. He had to find out which way Feliciano had possibly gone. Maybe someone else would know.

He tried asking a few of the girls her found lounging around the harem room where they stayed. Some didn't dress like they were simply hiding from dragons. He was beginning to believe Sadiq may have lied about that and did in fact use these women on occasion.

The women he asked didn't know anyone by that name or description.

Several others said the same thing, though one group were talking and when he approached with his question, they all grinned, "You know, I know that name. I've overheard Zahrah say it before. She doesn't speak much and gets special treatment from mother Kiku because of Lord Sadiq's disdain for her, but I think if you want answers you should go to her." One explained, "And when you get bored of that little whore, you can come to me~" she leaned against Ludwig, batting her eyelashes, before giggling and walking away.

Ludwig blushed a little, but brushed it off. He would find Zahrah. It was good his search was leading to her, he still had to speak with her about finding her a safer place to live.

It couldn't possibly be healthy for her to live in such a place.

He finally found the woman sitting beside the edge of a large indoor shallow pool. It seemed like maybe it was a public bathing area.

Her fingers were dipped into the water, swirling it about it lazy circles.

"Zahrah?" he announced himself softly, hoping to not startle her. No such luck, she still jumped and gasped.

"What?" her voice was even softer than he thought it would be for a girl who never spoke. He knelt down beside where she was.

"It's been a tiring search, but I've been told you could help me out."

She didn't look up at him, but she shifted her weight, preparing to stand up when she needed, "With?"

"Finding a man named Feliciano. I was told that you may know him." Ludwig stated, quietly, feeling his hopes rising. He desperately tried to suppress them, because he shouldn't let his feelings get in the way of his mission and thinking … but just the thought of being so close to Feliciano after such a cold trail, he just wanted to find him and kiss him. Ludwig's eyes opened wide, kiss him? Wait … what?

No … that wasn't … obviously he still cared for the man he considered his first real friend … but could he really still be harboring feelings for him from Ita? Was it possible? His heart throbbed painfully and he frowned.

"Feliciano wants nothing to do with you." She stated simply, balling up her fists into her dress, "He told me all about you, the man who stole his heart, then proceeded to hand it back after shredding it …" she muttered.

For some reason, those words cut right through Ludwig and he felt anger and sadness. Why would Feliciano say something like that? It didn't seem to make sense.

Zahrah stood up, "You're wasting your time looking for h-him." She turned to walk out of the large pool room, "He left last month to the east."

Ludwig rose as well. Then he would go east.


	12. Once Again, My Mistake

"Wait!" Ludwig rushed forward to grab Zahrah's arm. He still had to talk about getting her out to safety, "I know you are being hit by Sadiq … you need to get out of here, find safety. I can get you out of here, even escort you to Sverran or something."

She squeaked being grabbed, but pulled away, "I don't want to leave Kiku behind … besides, I don't want to leave with you." She whispered, continuing on.

Ludwig caught up with her, "It's not safe for you to stay here." He said seriously.

"I don't care." Was her reply.

"It's my duty to make sure that all people are safe if I can help it. I can't knowingly leave you here to continue being abused. He might kill you." He tried reasoning.

She just kept walking.

"Please let me save you."

Zahrah ignored him and tried turning down another hallway, this one leading out into a room filled with exotic plants, a small water pond and some benches. Zahrah sat down on one of the benches and looked towards one of the large flowers hanging on the walls.

Ludwig sat beside her, "Just escape from here."

"Why do you care?"

"Because you need help. What he is doing, hitting you for 'being clumsy' is wrong." The knight placed his hand on Zahrah's shoulder. She shrugged it away.

"And what of the young man whose heart your tore up? Why didn't you care then?"

Ludwig felt a stab in his chest, "It's none of your business."

Zahrah stood up, for the first time her eyes meeting Ludwig's, "Oh it's not?" her voice rose, becoming much louder … and … familiar.

Her golden honey eyes were locked with his and only then did Ludwig realize he'd once again mistaken Feliciano for a woman. His heart leapt with all sorts of joy at finally having finally tracked him down. He jumped up to grab onto the man before he faded into nowhere like the mirage had, but Feliciano pulled away and began to run off, but Ludwig wrapped his arms around the disguised Illonian from behind.

"Feliciano …" he whispered, "I finally found you …"

"Why do you care?" he whispered, letting his struggling stop and his head droop down.

"Because I had a misunderstanding. I didn't know Illonians from your birth village wore dresses no matter what gender …" he started, his face heating up with embarrassment, "Now sit still and listen while I explain things." Feliciano nodded and allowed Ludwig to turn him around so that they faced each other.

"I got mad at you wrongly …" he began, "When I was very young, I lost my mother and father. My brother took me north to train to become a knight. A naga attacked me once and I was knocked unconscious, losing every memory I ever had …" Feliciano looked up, his lip seemingly quivering beneath the mask veil.

"When I awoke, I had only my brother's words to rely on. Who I was, where I came from, what I was doing … it was all based on his knowledge.

"Of course, my memories started coming back to me … but only through dreams I would almost instantly forget upon waking. When I was lucky, I woke up and still remembered a piece. It was one of the memories of a young girl I'd met in the woods." Feliciano's eyes flashed with confusion.

"Of course, it was the ring of flowers in 'her' hair and the white sundress 'she' wore that confused me. I thought the other boy was a she." Ludwig admitted, shame filling his cheeks and guilt was present in his eyes, "We became fast friends, gaining the silly nickname of Horoem, and spending long afternoons playing together.

"For years, they were happy, until one evening, when my mother explained to me what her necklace meant …" he touched the spot beneath his shirt, where the cold metal was, "I spent weeks working on matching identical iron crosses in secret, but a terrible winter set in and then my mother died. Finally, my father took his own life and I was being taken from the small home.

"But not before I found my Ita and gave him the necklace promising my love to him, who I still thought was a girl. We parted. These memories came back to me, but I didn't know if I could trust them.

"So I went into Illonia, hoping to find the girl in my dreams, instead … I found a man and his village in need. That man stuck to me in more ways than I could imagine. I risked my life to save his on so many occasions, but it felt like I had to. There was something drawing me to him.

"Then I found a necklace around his neck that broke my heart … I thought the little girl from my dreams had given away the necklace to someone she loved now … not that that girl was actually a man and that he was still waiting for me. By the time I realized what went wrong, he was already gone."

Ludwig was shaking from his speech, which seemed to come completely out of nowhere. He wasn't good with words and he hoped that the man in his arms had gotten the meaning of what he was trying to say.

Feliciano just stared back at him, tears streaming down his face, soaking into the face veil.

"So … you never hated me? I didn't do anything wrong?" The Illonian asked, his voice quivering.

The Gartyrarren knight hugged him tightly, "No … it was my own stupidity. I usually consider all options before making conclusions, but I let my heart get the better of me before I could find the right answer."

Feliciano hugged him back and began sobbing, "Luddy …"

"Now what's with this ridiculous outfit?" Ludwig asked, pulling back, suddenly aware that this really was Feliciano in the blue dress, showing off his midriff.

The Illonian looking down, "A disguise … I wouldn't have been able to stay here in the palace if I hadn't pretended to be a girl. Kiku helped me out!" he took a step back, "Why do you ask? Don't you like it?" he lifted the skirt area and twirled a bit, showing off his long legs.

Ludwig became a dark red and grabbed his shoulders, "Would you stop that? Now, come on. We have to go home now, Feliciano. What about your brother?"

Feliciano instantly became guilty, "I didn't mean to hurt him or the twins or big brother Tonio …"

"I know, but that doesn't mean you can just stay here …" Ludwig's face once again twisted in anger, frightening Feliciano some, "That twisted … he's been hitting you. Why didn't you stand up for yourself?"

"I couldn't blow my cover!" he exclaimed, flailing his arms, "Ve, speaking of, shouldn't you be getting back to your room? Dinner will be ready soon!" his honey eyes stared into Ludwig's icy blue ones with such a difference than only a few minutes before. It was almost as if nothing had happened between them … Feliciano was just as happy as he used to be when they had been traveling the first time.

"Okay …" Ludwig agreed, "But I'm leaving tomorrow morning and you're going with me." He stated, making sure the Illonian understood.

Feliciano looked at him with a huge smile, underneath his veil, "Okay, Luddy!" the Illonian led him from the garden room and down the hallways into the large dining hall. Herakles and Sadiq were already there. Sadiq was bickering about something to the awake Herakles.

"Oh … Ludwig! Nice of you to join us for dinner! Kiku has told me you'll be leaving in the morning?" Sadiq sipped his drink.

Ludwig stole a look at the uncomfortable looking Feliciano walking through the dining hall into the kitchen, "Yeah. I've gathered what information I needed on the person I'm searching for and need to get as much ground covered as soon as possible."

Sadiq laughed, "I know how it goes, friend. One must stay on the trails of those they seek out. A cold trail is rather hard to follow. I wish you luck on this journey of yours." He raised his glass and tipped it back.

The Gartyrarren knight thanked him.

When Gupta finally arrived, dinner was able to commence. The women (and Feliciano) brought out the food and began serving it. Feliciano didn't seem as nervous and shaky as he was earlier that day as he set down the food and what not. However, it didn't seem to satiate Sadiq.

"I thought I told you to stay out of my sight." He growled, standing up and grabbing Feliciano's arm, "Dammit, Zahrah, can't you ever listen?" he slapped Feliciano across the face and Ludwig felt his blood boil. It was one thing to hurt someone like that when they had merely been an innocent in his eyes, but Feliciano was his and no one elses'.

He rose from his chair, "Leave Zahrah alone, Sadiq … she did nothing wrong."

Sadiq turned to Ludwig. Ludwig found it offsetting that he couldn't read the man's expression underneath the things he wore to cover his face.

Silence ensued and Herakles, Kiku and Gupta just watched.

"What the hell did you say to me?" Sadiq growled, turning his body towards Ludwig's, yet not letting go of Feliciano's arm. Feliciano whimpered like he was in pain and tried to pry off Sadiq's grip.

"I said leave Zahrah alone." Ludwig growled back, glaring hard, "It's a knight's duty to help everyone in need and she is no exception. Hitting anyone who didn't deserve it is wrong."

"She does deserve it. Have you not spent the entire afternoon with her? Have you not seen how clumsy she is, spilling things, tripping and constantly falling over herself?" Sadiq raised Feliciano's arm over his head and jerked him around a bit, waving him as if he was some sort of flag, "You have to train them not to mess up. Imagine if you have been a diplomat, very important to our people and survival, and she spilled that food all over you. I can imagine you wouldn't be happy, we wouldn't get the support we need and she would be the cause of it. Would you rather I killed her instead?"

That set Ludwig off, "Let go of her this instant! You have no right to hit anyone! If she's bad at serving the food, have her clean. It's that simple!"

Gupta stood up, "Calm down, Sadiq, Ludwig …" Sadiq shoved Feliciano away and sat back down, "I'm sorry if we have insulted you, Ludwig …" he sighed softly and sat back down to eat. The tension did not go away as Ludwig ate. He felt the deathly glare on him coming from the military man. He may need to just up things and sneak out that night.

After the meal was done, he thanked Gupta again for helping him in his time of need and assured him he was very grateful, before retiring to the room he'd awoken in. It's walls were still very foreign to him, but now he needed to pack up what belonged to him, which wasn't much, get Kiku to bring him the supplies and then find Feliciano to escape.

The door opened behind Ludwig and he spun on his heel to see Feliciano, still clad in his little costume, walking inside, "Um … Luddy ..." the man shut the door and rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Ludwig, "Thank you …" he began sobbing.

Ludwig felt his usually stone heart, melting a bit at the sobbing Illonian in his arms, "Shh, it's okay …" he rubbed his back, still finding it odd for Feliciano to be wearing such … feminine clothing.

Though … it suited him in a way. Ludwig shook his head.

He held him close for a minute before pushing away and reaching up to the veil. Feliciano instantly backed up and clutched onto it, "You shouldn't touch that …"

Ludwig frowned, "Why not?"

Feliciano just turned away ashamed, "No reason …"

The knight just nodded and sat down on the large bed and patted the spot beside him, "I want you to tell me what you were thinking, running away like that in the first place."

Sighing, Feliciano nodded and sat beside him, "Because I had been struggling with my love for you and my love for Horoem … when I saw you had the other pendant, I was happy … I didn't have to feel like I was breaking my promise anymore, 'cause both of the men I loved were the same man! But you hated me! I couldn't handle being in the same place as you, so I decided to run away … I went to big brother Francis' place, but was taken by the dragon …"

"I know … and I see … I'm sorry for the confusion I caused, but you must promise you will never run away like that again."

"Okay … ve … I'm sorry."

Ludwig rolled his eyes lightly and rested his arm over Feliciano's shoulders and drew him closer to him, "It's fine. I'm just glad you're safe now." He whispered.


	13. Botched Escape

A few moments later, Ludwig noticed Feliciano had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He sighed softly and carefully moved himself from under him and laid the crossdressed Illonian down on the bed. In the meantime he had to find Kiku and get the supplies for two made up.

He quietly left the room, only to be face to face with Herakles, Kiku right behind him. Kiku was no longer wearing the elaborate robe, but rather black pants and a matching shirt. His face was a bit darkened, "Feliciano has told me of your plans to leave with him. I don't mean to butt into your business, Mr. Ludwig, but I've been the one comforting him every night since I brought him here when he cried about why you didn't love him. I'm going, too."

Herakles nodded, "I'm going as well. Won't leave Kiku behind."

Ludwig frowned. It would take longer to get four people across the desert and sea and get them all somewhere away from here, and possibly even longer. However, if it was getting Feliciano out of the place and getting him home, then he could deal with the two men. Neither seemed like they would be a handful.

"Of course. Gather the supplies, meet me here as soon as you're done and Feliciano and I shall be done getting ready. He's napping now."

Kiku nodded, "Very well then. Thank you for your cooperation. We should be done in about thirty minutes to an hour."

Ludwig nodded. That was easier than he'd hoped. He reentered the door and found Feliciano sitting on the bed sobbing.

"Feli?"

The Illonian jumped and looked up, "Luddy …" he jumped up and hugged him tightly, "I thought it was all a dream … I thought I dreamed it all up … you really are here!" he buried his face in Ludwig's neck.

"I was only right outside the door."

Feliciano didn't answer, he just held on tightly and sniffled, "I love you, Ludwig …" he whispered.

Ludwig's heart pounded in his chest and his face felt like it was on fire. Sweat began beading up on his face and neck. What did he say back? Did he … could he … love him back?

He tilted Feliciano's head up to look at him with a sort of panicky look. Is hands shook and he didn't know what to tell the Illonian. He tried thinking rationally about things. Feliciano and Ludwig had been extremely close before he lost his memories. Now that he could remember a few of those moments between them, he does recall the feelings he had about wanting to spend the rest of his life with the Illonian. He'd traveled the world to find him and make sure he was safe. Just the thought of anyone touching him made him want to kill that person.

But what about kissing the Illonian? Could he do that all the time? Could he imagine waking up next to him every morning? Going to sleep together every night? Making love? They had already done most of the things on this list and personally, the thought of waking up to him again was comforting … at first, he hadn't liked it, of course, but it was the Illonian's way of showing how much he trusted someone. Then you have those other little things mentioned … kissing and bedding the slightly smaller male … he bit his lip, just the thought of it made him sweat more.

So did all of these things mean he loved Feliciano? Well … he was still unsure, but one thing was clear, he never wanted to let him go again, and if saying 'I love you' kept him happy, would that be right?

He let his hand come to rest on Feliciano's veil again. The smaller man flinched, "Let me take it off of you, Feliciano."

The Illonian closed his eyes, tears already spilling over. Ludwig was confused, but pulled the veil and head cover off Feliciano's head. What Ludwig was met with caused his anger to boil over the limit.

Feliciano's lip was busted in two places and there was a lot of bruising on his cheeks. Sadiq had a pretty powerful hit, didn't he? All Ludwig wanted to do at that moment was hunt the man down and tie him up and whip him and show him how bad it would hurt.

"D-don't be mad at me!" Feliciano begged, "Please!"

"Feli …" the Gartyrarren frowned, "I am not mad at you for this …" he ran his thumb over the newest bruise on his left cheek and frowned, "I am mad at myself for not finding you sooner." He pressed his forehead against Feliciano's and closed his eyes, "You may be weak, annoying sometimes and get into more trouble than any other human out there, but you … I can never hate you …" he felt odd admitting things like this to Feliciano, but it had to be alright since it was in private.

"Luddy …" Feliciano smiled a small goofy smile. He stood up on his toes and pulled down against Ludwig's shoulders, crushing their lips together in a slow, testing kiss.

Ludwig's brain shut down and then sped up with a million and one questions. What was he supposed to do? How does one normally react upon getting kissed? Did you kiss back? How did you kiss back? What did he do with his hands? Keep them on his waist, or move them? But where?

However, his mind went silent and his eyes slipped closed. He leaned into the kiss, deciding to just focus on Feliciano's lips, massaging against his own. He quickly got the hang of things and was able to mimic the movements.

Feliciano whimpered and pulled back quickly, rubbing at his lip. He had tears in his eyes, "Sorry! I didn't mean to stop the kiss … my lip kind of stings fr-" Ludwig cut him off with a gentle kiss, before pulling away and looking at him.

"Don't apologize."

"Okay." Feliciano smiled softly.

There was a noise from the door and it opened to reveal Kiku and Herakles carrying a few packs, "Ready?" Herakles asked.

"Ready?"

"We're leaving tonight." Ludwig explained, "Change into something you can travel in." he was so busy with Feliciano, he had completely forgotten about getting his stuff and putting it on.

Kiku walked over to Feliciano and handed him some clothing, "Get changed so I can put some salve on your wounds."

The Illonian nodded and began to strip his body of the thin dress skirt and top. Ludwig bit his lip and tried not to watch as he stripped his own clothing to redress in his thick clothing designed to protect him in battle.

Once they were changed and ready, Herakles led the other three outside of the room and down the halls, "Be quiet or we'll risk waking someone at this point."

Everyone nodded. The escape from the palace was much easier than anticipated ... until they ran into the last person you'd want to run into while trying to sneak out. Sadiq looked over and pushed off the wall, "I knew I'd find you trying to leave, Herakles, 'Zahrah', Kiku... you're indebted to the prince. You're not just leaving." he pulled out his sword.

Herakles stepped in front of Kiku, "Go away Sadiq." he hissed, "We were all allowed to leave."

"The knight, sure, but Gupta never gave you permission to leave." the man said, a smile in his voice.

Ludwig seemed to be the only one who could fight, so he began to draw his sword. However, an unexpected fighter ran to take down their road block. Feliciano darted in between them and dodged the sword, to slide under Sadiq's legs and make it behind him. He spun around and snatched a sword off the bigger man's belt. Sadiq turned and brought their swords together.

"What's your real name?" Sadiq asked, no malice in his voice.

Feliciano frowned, "Feliciano. Now let us pass or I'll force you."

"I would love to see that, Zahrah~" he chuckled, "How about a wager, you and me, one on one. If you win, I'll give you money to travel with and make sure you have supplies. If you lose, you stay. The other three can leave. Must leave." he said.

The Illonian trembled lightly in fear and adrenaline. "Deal."

"Feliciano!" Ludwig frowned. He worked to hard to get here and find Feliciano to lose him without being able to do anything about it.

The two parted swords and stepped back from each other and bowed out of respect for each other. They raised their weapons and the fighting began. Feliciano swung the sword low, but Sadiq masterfully blocked it and threw a fist into Feliciano's face. The Illonian gasped, stumbling back, but blocked the sword strike that came at him.

Sadiq pinned him down and he yelped, raised his leg and kicked the man hard in the stomach. Sadiq gasped in pain, "You little shit!"

"It's like you're not even fighting!" Feliciano winced, jumping up. He dropped his sword and slammed his fist into Sadiq's face.

The hall fell silent as the man's mask was thrown from his face and hit the ground with a small noise. Sadiq turned his greenish brown eyes on Feliciano, "Damn... no one's ever hit me so hard my mask flew off..." he chuckled, standing up. He pulled the black fabric down from his face and rubbed the spot Feliciano had hit, where the skin was red and would soon bruise.

Feliciano trembled and held his fist up still, ready to keep fighting. His eyes refused to leave Sadiq's face as the man righted himself, "You win~" he smiled, "Let's get your supplies."

"I... I did...?" Feliciano frowned, confused.

Sadiq nodded, "I'm military leader for a reason, Zahrah. I can fight and fight well. Not only did you hit me, but you hit hard. I just wanted a good fight anyway."

Feliciano perked up and smiled, "Thank you~!" he said, past seemingly fogotten between them, which baffled and angered Ludwig.

Half an hour later, they had the money and supplies to leave, thanks to Sadiq. The man, mean as could be, seemed to respect Feliciano on a level that didn't exist before the young man had proved himself and Feliciano was all smiles, despite the bruising his face still sported.

Once they had their things, they were off through the cold dessert night.

An hour or so passed and Ludwig looked around, "When will we stop for the night?"

"When we reach the hidden spring … it's where I found Kiku and I only found the hidden spring because Kiku was calling for help and stumbled upon it. Luckily, from there, we shouldn't have to keep walking through desert. Once we're rested up, I know a way out of there."

"But-" Kiku started, looking confused, "It's no longer linked to the sea … that's why I was calling for help …"

Herakles smiled softly and leaned over and nuzzled his face into the smaller man's cheek, "You're so cute, Kiku."

He turned a dark red and pushed Herakles away, "How inappropriate for public! And you haven't explained yourself and the spring."

"We're married, am I not allowed to show you affection?"

Kiku was once again red and silent, "Mr. Herakles!"

"Aww … back to using honorifics with me?" Herakles smiled softly, "Looks like I'm in trouble." The man yawned and stretched, "I need to get more sleep …"

Everyone stayed quiet after that, until another hour and a half later when Herakles stopped and looked around himself for a few moments before walking towards a rather large dune.

Suddenly, he disappeared. Kiku was quick to follow. Ludwig and Feliciano looked confused, but quickly caught up to see a hidden opening to a cavern beneath the dune. In between a few others was an oasis.

The two entered the cavern and found the rocks were just as dry down under there as they were above with the sand.

With it becoming impossibly dark, Ludwig pulled out a small lantern he had and set it up and lit it. The dim light illuminated the walls of the cavern. They still couldn't see much and Feliciano took to latching onto Ludwig's arm.

"Feliciano … don't do that!"

The Illonian ignored him and held tighter still. Ludwig sighed and continued on anyway.

Kiku and Herakles could be heard up ahead.

"H-Herakles … what did you do to this place? What happened?"

"On my days off, when I'd wander off, I came back to fix it up here … I eventually wanted to come live here with you, but I changed my mind and began cleaning it up …"

"It's … it was destroyed the last time I saw it."

Ludwig and Feliciano finally entered the large cavern that the huge sand dune must have been hiding beneath it. There were tunnels leading out of the large room, each having its own branch of the massive deep pool of crystal clear water in the center.

Herakles continued what he had been doing by lighting torches on the wall to light up the large room.

"We can sleep here and continue on in the morning. I know for a face these branches of water lead to the sea." He spoke, "So get some rest. Kiku will wake you when it's time to leave." He found a large flat stone and lied down on it. The man seemed to sleep instantly.

Kiku frowned lightly but joined his husband to sleep. Ludwig found a nice little spot and pulled out his blanket that he'd had for who knew how long. He leaned against a rather oddly smooth stone and covered himself with the blanket, then looked up to see Feliciano wandering around the pool, staring down into its depths.

Ludwig watched him, just sat and enjoyed the look on the Illonian's face. It was one of pure joy and wonder. His honey eyes glanced up at Ludwig and the man's heart skipped a beat. The smile gracing Feliciano's face filled him with warmth. He was glad to see Feliciano seemed rather unchanged by everything that had happened, especially when he had the strength to forgive Ludwig so easily and smile.

The Gartyrarren man just didn't understand why he did forgive him so easily. He certainly didn't deserve it.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Feliciano smiled, "Alfred, the fairy taught me while we were trapped in the ice castle." he explained, "He said I should know how for when I escaped since I could run into thugs or thieves."

Ludwig nodded, still shocked that while a lot hadn't changed, a few things had. He wondered if he needed to really protect Feliciano at all anymore.

"You need to get some sleep." Ludwig yawned.

Feliciano nodded and skipped over to Ludwig and quickly sidled up to his side. Ludwig flushed a soft pink color as Feliciano wrapped his arms around his waist and buried it into the Gartyrarren's neck.

Ludwig lied back with him and covered him with the blanket. He ran his thumb over Feliciano's bruised lip. Happy that he'd saved Feliciano from that hell, he was able to fall asleep soundly for the first time in nearly a year.


	14. One Last Kiss

Kiku woke everyone up sometime later. Ludwig was up immediately, but Feliciano took a bit of work to get up. He squirmed and struggled, "No … few more minutes!" he yawned.

"Feliciano, please wake up. We have to leave. Don't you want to get home as soon as possible?" Ludwig asked, "Your brother is waiting for you."

This still did not seem to get the Illonian to want to wake up. Herakles must have noticed this as he had walked up and crouched down to Ludwig's level, "Kiss him awake."

Ludwig's face turned bright red, "What?"

"It works with me … when Kiku is being cute and I need to get up, he'll kiss me awake … it's just a thought. We really do need to get going." He rose and walked over to where Kiku was.

The Gartyrarren knight looked down at the man curled in the blanket and swallowed hard. He could still imagine the feeling of Feliciano's lips against his. Ludwig bit his lip lightly and glanced away for a moment to gather his courage, but just as he turned back, Feliciano was sitting up and stretching.

"Morning, Luddy!" he smiled, his eyes lit up brightly.

Ludwig held back the soft smile and muttered a small morning. He began to pack his things. What had become of his brain lately? He wasn't thinking straight anymore! His main focus was to get the Illonian man back home to his brother. Not to seek a relationship from said man. He was still even unsure of how that would work out.

Gilbert didn't seem the type to settle down and make sure the Beilschmidt name was passed on, and both boys had always been raised with the notion of having as many sons as possible to make sure your name was passed on. A man can't have kids, therefore couldn't make a suitable partner for someone like him. Right? He did want a son one day. A strong boy to teach how to fight and protect his family.

However, Lovino was a man and had managed- no! It's nonsense! He shook his head.

Once they were on their way, Kiku began talking to Feliciano about this and that and the two men became engaged in a long conversation.

Ludwig took this time to plan out the remainder of the journey, which according to his calculations, would only be a month more, depending on when they finally made it to the sea. They would catch the ferry and then from there, find a trade ship to take them straight to Sverran's capital. Maybe two months at most, he thought with confidence.

After three full hours of travelling through the dark tunnel, they came to a dead end with a small pool of water lying in the middle.

Ludwig couldn't help but feel a bit irritated, "Now what?"

Kiku bowed lightly, "I'm sorry, I meant to tell you before. This is the end of the tunnel, but this pool leads directly to the sea. All we have to do is swim through."

"How are we supposed to do that? How long is it? I find it hard to believe that it's close enough for us to just hold our breath."

"Of course. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but if you'll allow me a few moments, I can go find just what I need to help you out." He blushed a bright red and turned away from the rest of his group, before pulling off his shirt and pants. He stood completely bare on front of the others before quickly slipping into the water. The water glowed brightly and Kiku gave out a weak cry of pain.

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as possible." Ludwig stared in amazement. Kiku's neck now sported very fine lines one probably wouldn't notice and the fingers he used to grip the side of the pool of water were webbed up to the first knuckle. Even his eyes had changed a bit, with a clear second eyelid noticeable from the corner of his eyes.

He couldn't believe it. Ludwig was actually in the presence of a mermaid, or rather, man. Kiku closed the second, clear lid and dove into the water.

"He's a merman." Ludwig stated.

"Yes. He used to wander away from home all the time, exploring the creatures he didn't know very well. He stumbled upon this path and a rather unfortunate cave in separated him from his family on the outside. If I hadn't have found him down here, he would have died.

"I would always come to clear it out, hoping I'd be able to help him. Eventually, we were wed and it drove me to help him even more. I wonder if the water feels good on his tail." Herakles whispered, sitting down on the edge. He stuck his hand in the water and closed his eyes.

Feliciano used the extra time to curl up and take a small nap, so with nothing more to do, Ludwig sat down beside Herakles, "Kiku is a man. You don't have a problem being married to him?"

"None at all. I love him and he's good in bed. Doesn't look like it, but he's just as into the whole having sex with me as I am with him."

Ludwig tried hard to wash that image from his brain, "No … what I meant was, don't you want children? A son to pass your name down to?"

Herakles smiled, "Of course. Kiku isn't showing yet, but he's pregnant. We should be having a son or daughter in about four months or so. Which is just another reason I'm glad to be away from that jerk face."

"But he's-"

"A 'he', I know. It was strange when he came to me not long ago and told me. Apparently merpeople are so far and few between, their bodies have adapted to reproducing in areas where the female wasn't always present. So all merpeople, no matter what gender, are born with both male and female reproductive organs. On the outside, Kiku is male and his human form appears male, but on the inside, he cannot be told apart from any other mermaid or merman. So for him to have a child is not uncommon. It threw me off, yes, but I couldn't be happier."

Ludwig frowned. That didn't help him much, but obviously Herakles hadn't known before he married the man.

He sighed and leaned back against a stone wall. It was maybe half an hour later Kiku resurfaced with a handful of shells and shimmering seaweed.

"What's all this?" Ludwig asked.

"Supplies to make special necklaces. All merpeople are imbued with a bit of magic and being one of the king's students, I learned a lot of different types. He began weaving the stuff together and whispering over it.

Finally, he had made three weird charms, "As long as you have this in hand, you'll be able to breath underwater. However, it's effects last for about two hours." He explained handing them each one.

Feliciano was woken up and they were to continue their journey underwater.

Ludwig was a little hesitant at first but after Herakles demonstrated, he found it amazing. All of the magic he was discovering on this journey was amazing.

When all four were in the water, Kiku used a bit of his energy to make a glowing ball to light up their path. His voice echoed in their heads, "It will be about twenty minutes until we reach the sea and about another ten before we'll be at the surface."

Ludwig nodded and made sure Feliciano was following him before they continued on.

Just as they had managed to exit the tunnel and into the wide open waters, Ludwig turned back to see Feliciano was not right behind him. He groaned and motioned for them to wait. He swam into the tunnel to see Feliciano panicking on the tunnel floor shifting his hands into the stones.

The Gartyrarren got in front of him and noticed he had lost his shell. With wide eyes, he looked around too but could not see it either. He frowned and watched Feliciano let out the last of his breath. Ludwig quickly shoved his own shell into Feliciano's palm and began to swim with him out of the tunnel on his own last breath.

Feliciano was trying to shove the shell back into Ludwig's hand, but the man refused it. However, there was a small problem. There was no way he could hold his breath for the ten minutes it would take to reach the surface. He looked back at Feliciano, who struggled against Ludwig's hands, trying to break free, trying to give him back the charm.

Ludwig was already feeling the burning in his lungs … but … Feliciano needed to live more than he did. He had a family waiting for him, a brother, a niece and nephew … he had to get to Sverran.

The knight pulled Feliciano close to him and pressed his hand to the man's chest. He was having more trouble moving now. It wouldn't be long before he drowned. As long as Feliciano made it … Feliciano looked like he was in a lot of pain himself, and would probably be in tears if it wasn't that they were already surrounded by water. He yelled out, but it came out in muffled bubbles.

Ludwig leaned forward and kissed Feliciano. If he was to die, he was going to at least make Feliciano happy one last time … and at least get one more kiss.

He pulled back and mouthed, 'Stay safe.' Before his vision began to cloud with darkness.

Feliciano was yelling and screaming, but once again, all Ludwig heard was the bubbling noise around him. Then he heard nothing. Silence. Was this how death was?

Again, he was standing in front of his mother's deathbed. She smiled at him. The image was far clearer than it had ever been before, like the old painting on the wall of him and Gilbert.

The scene was the exact same from before, when he'd passed out in the desert, however when his mother spoke, he didn't hear her. He couldn't hear her. She said nothing, but at the same time her lips moved in conversation. It kept replaying over and over and he was getting frustrated.

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He could feel his throat vibrate and the air come passed his lips, but no sound followed.

Again, he tried to speak, but nothing came out. He gripped his throat and tried again and again, but nothing was coming out. Then, on his final try, bubbles form and floated off. He was shocked. The room he sat with his mother was filled to the brim with water. Fish were swimming around them and she acted as if nothing was wrong. She just continued speaking her nonexistent words.

Ludwig then tried to stand up, but when he did, he found himself standing in front of a large half snake creature. He reared his body back and shot forward. Out of instinct, Ludwig rolled to dodge it. He smiled cockily.

"Watch it, West!" Gilbert called from somewhere. Ludwig nodded and rushed forward, his underdeveloped body holding the sword weirdly as he lunged.

The naga dodged it and slammed his tail into Ludwig's chest, knocking the breath from him. The teen was flung into the ground, hard. His head slammed into a rock, his sword clanged in the distance and he felt like he was back in the water drowning again. His mother's gargled speech was coming through to him.

"Ludwig …" she whispered.

"Ludwig …"

He tried to open his eyes, but the warmth surrounding him invited him to just stay floating in nothingness.

"Ludwig!" her voice was getting louder and more frantic.

He frowned and tried to open his eyes. The lids were too heavy. He just wanted to stay asleep and continued floating in the warmth.

"Ludwig, please! Wake up!"

Feliciano?

"Luddy, please … I'm sorry! Don't die! Wake up!"

Ludwig groaned and twisted a bit, fighting against the heaviness he felt. He searched for the exit to this dream world filled with all kind of darkness and memories.


	15. Candy

Ludwig opened his eyes, which felt super heavy. He turned to his side and began coughing until his throat was itchy and sore. He felt back into the sand and looked up at the weight on his chest.

"Luddy! Oh god, Luddy!" he began sobbing louder than he probably had been before. Ludwig rested his hand on Feliciano's shoulder.

"I'm okay." Ludwig croaked, feeling a bit of embarrassment that Feliciano was showing him this much undeserved affection. He sat up with Feliciano's help and gripped his head, "What happened?"

Feliciano sniffled, trying to calm down, "I'll tell you in a minute …" he hugged Ludwig tightly, "I just want to hug you …"

Ludwig's cheeks darkened a bit and he hesitantly wrapped his arms back around Feliciano and enjoyed the feeling of the slightly smaller man in his arms.

"You almost drowned …" Feliciano muttered, "You almost died trying to save me." The honey eyed, rimmed with red and dripping with salty tears.

With a groan, Ludwig leaned back on his left hand, while the right rested on Feliciano's head, "It's not like I haven't risked my life for you before. It's nothing. You just need to stop being so clumsy. How did you lose your shell in the first place?"

Feliciano blushed and smiled, "I dropped it when my hand hit the tunnel wall. I'm sorry!"

"It's okay." Ludwig sighed. He looked at Feliciano's smiling face and couldn't help but feel a bit of a smile himself. His eyes drifted down and found Feliciano's iron cross was on the outside of his shirt. Ludwig stared at it. The little sign of a promise he made. He let his hand drift down as well, resting on the little piece of metal. The knight noticed how Feliciano tensed up, but Ludwig just smiled softly.

He couldn't help himself from wanting to always put Feliciano before himself. Someone with such a pure and innocent outlook to life, someone who had always seen tough times, but never failed to smile about it, someone who needed his help … that someone didn't need to see his life come to a premature end. His undying need to protect Feliciano had seemed to be sewn into his being, leading Ludwig to believe it hadn't actually been Lovino's threat that made him chase after Feliciano, like he'd initially told himself over and over.

It was possible that he honestly loved him.

Ludwig leaned forward, dusting his hand against his pants, while his other hand slid to the back of Feliciano's neck. Gartyrarren and Illonian met at the lips. Feliciano's eyes widened, but he quickly accepted the kiss and began to massage Ludwig's lip back with his own.

A throat clearing broke the two apart. Kiku was standing beside them, "I found out when the next ferry will be by here. We have about forty minutes. I'm glad to see you're awake and alright now, Mr. Ludwig."

"Th-thanks …" Ludwig's face was darker than it had ever been before, embarrassed and being caught in a semi-intimate moment.

Kiku nodded and walked away, back towards the small port village where Herakles most likely was waiting for him.

Feliciano wasted no time curling up on Ludwig's lap and nuzzling his neck. Ludwig rubbed his back and hair, "Feliciano, I have something serious to discuss with you."

The Illonian sat back on his legs and frowned, "About what, Luddy?"

Ludwig stood up and pulled Feliciano up with him. Then he grabbed the necklace from Feliciano's neck. This action horrified Feliciano and the tears began to well up in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ludwig pressed his finger to the Illonian's lips, "Shh."

"Feliciano, where I'm from, a man makes these matching necklaces for the person he wants to marry. I never actually asked you, did I?" Feliciano looked confused, but shook his head. "It's not proper, then. It's disgraceful of me." He offered the necklace back to Feliciano, whose face was now streaked with tears, "Marry me. I can't promise I'll be the best husband, nor can I promise I'll even be anything special, but I can promise I'll be there for you when you need me to be." He managed to force out the words that didn't want to come out easily.

Suddenly, he found himself being propelled back. Feliciano had thrown himself at Ludwig and began covering his face with kisses, "Luddy! I've never stopped wanting to marry you!"

Ludwig nodded, "Good … so um …" he quickly kissed Feliciano. The Illonian smiled brightly, replacing the necklace around his neck. Feliciano squealed in delight and jumped around for a moment, before tackled Ludwig once more to kiss him hard on the lips.

After a moment of celebration, the two walked to where the ferry would be picking them up, Feliciano clinging to Ludwig's arm with a starry eyed look upon his face.

Herakles looked up at them, "Good you're awake. We were a bit worried when you were drowning." He pushed forward a plate he had that held some food, "Eat a little before we head out."

Ludwig nodded and he and Feliciano ate a little bit of the food. Soon enough, the captain of the ferry was calling forth for those who would be riding it to the Giryll islands.

"That's us." Herakles muttered softly, standing up. Kiku met up with the in the line to board the ferry. He held up their passes. Everyone took one.

The passes weren't anything special, but got them two rooms on the small ship. They would be on the ferry for maybe two or three weeks, with the few stops they would have to take at a few ports. As long as the seas stayed calm, they would get there on time.

From the capital city of Giryll, they should be able to get another to take them straight to Sverran. Ludwig set his pack down in his and Feliciano's small little cabin. When he said small, he meant it. There was one little bed, barely able to fit the two of them on it. There was a trunk to put things, but other than that, it was rather stuffy and probably not worth the gold Kiku had paid for it.

Feliciano plopped down on the small bed and began coughing at the dust that was flung up into the air. He began to wave it away.

"Feliciano, be careful." Ludwig scolded lightly, sitting down beside the other man carefully, hoping to not disturb the dust, too.

The two sat in silence for a moment until Feliciano began humming, "I can't wait to see my brother again!" he smiled brightly, "And Romana and Tristán!" he smiled, "I wonder how big they've gotten! It's been a year or so since I've seen them last!"

Ludwig nodded, "You shouldn't have run off." He stated, "I still don't understand why you thought it was a good idea."

Feliciano just laughed and leaned on Ludwig's shoulder, "Part of me wanted to see the world once I knew where my brother was … another part was sad to see you. I didn't think anything bad would happen."

His knight just nodded and sighed, "It's getting late and we still haven't eaten anything for dinner."

At the mention of food, Feliciano jumped up and clapped his hands together, "Oh, can we have pasta?"

"No, we're going to eat something small and practical. Bread and cheese and maybe a bit of meat." He opened up his pack to look for the food Kiku had packed inside. Luckily, the merman had anticipated their meeting with water and had wrapped the food extra tightly in some sort of waterproof fabric. The bread was perfectly dry. He broke two chunks off the loaf and grabbed some cheese and salted meat.

He and Feliciano leaned against the wall on the bed and ate the food. Feliciano complained about the taste, but his most likely pained stomach kept him from turning his nose up at the food. Luckily, the finicky eater had grown a little less finicky over his journey.

"Luddy~" Feliciano just mumbled happily.

"What?" he answered, confused.

Feliciano looked at him and shrugged, "Nothing!" he finished the remaining bit of his bread, "So when do you think we'll be back in Sverran?"

"A month and a half at most, if we're lucky." Ludwig explained.

The Illonian nodded and walked around the best he could manage in the small room, "I think I'm going to go find Kiku!"

Ludwig nodded, "Don't wander off too far. And be back soon." The blond was rather unwilling to just let Feliciano out of his sight, but he figured the man had no reasons to just run away again.

Feliciano wandered down the thin hall of the ship and looked for the room number that his best friend was behind. When he found it, he knocked. Kiku answered it and let him in, "I wasn't expecting company yet, Feliciano."

Herakles was lying on the small bed, sleeping soundly. His light snores filled the room, but both males seemed unaffected by it. Kiku was apparently set up on the floor eating a lunch of his own. It obviously consisted of things he'd caught earlier in the sea while they waited for the ship to start boarding and Ludwig to wake.

There was fish and the green seaweed that Kiku rarely got to enjoy. There was also something else. It looked absolutely sweet and there seemed like an awful lot for one little merman. Feliciano licked his lips, wanting to try the sweet looking treat, however he brushed it off and sat down with Kiku.

"So, guess what Kiku!" Feliciano squirmed happily.

Kiku looked up from his little meal, "What?"

"Ludwig re-proposed to me! I think … I think things will be okay now." He smiled softly.

"Congratulations, Feliciano, this is good news to hear. I wish I could make some special treats to celebrate." Kiku stated, taking a bite of one of his fish.

Feliciano smiled, "I would love that. Maybe sometime later?"

"Indeed." Kiku smiled.

A moment passed and Kiku groaned, "I'm not feeling so well. Please, make yourself at home while I'm out…" he got up and covered his mouth before leaving the room entirely. Feliciano frowned and sat back, relaxing against the wall. He stared down at the small tray of food and reached over to grab up a bit of the fish. It was alright, but he made a face at it and tried another bite of something else on the tray. Finally, he came across the candy he'd spotted earlier and his mouth began to water. Feliciano grabbed up a piece and popped it into his mouth.

It was just as sweet as he'd imagined, though the texture wasn't as he'd imagined. It looked like a hard candy, like Elizaveta and he used to make for his birthday every year, but it was like a flaky outside and jelly inside.

After he swallowed, it had a very strange after taste, kind of bitter and salty at the same time. However, it was addicting. He popped another and then another.

When it seemed Kiku wasn't going to be back for a while, he grabbed up a bunch of the candies from the little bag they were in and slipped them into his own pouch. He would save those ones for later.

He left Kiku's room and headed back to his own, where he found Ludwig was shirtless, lying on the dusty floor, using the bed as an anchor for his sit ups. Feliciano stopped and stared as his mouth became dry. Ludwig's muscles rippled beneath his skin in the most wonderful of ways. Sweat dripped down his face and neck and chest.

The blond man reached his mumbled 100 and then turned his body over to begin push-ups. "Up down, one, up down, two, up down, three-" he counted, using his arms to push himself up off the ground. Feliciano carefully, and quietly, closed the door behind him and sat against it, on the floor, to watch Ludwig go through his routine. He'd never actually watched Ludwig do something like before and he had to admit, while he hated exercising like that, he didn't hate watching Ludwig.

His icy blue eyes were filled with determination and pride. While he also looked strained, he just continued on and kept going. When he reached fifty, he brought one arm up behind his back and counted off twenty five more like that, then switched to do twenty five on the other arm.

Feliciano smiled. Ludwig was the perfect husband for him. Strong, loyal, loving in his own uptight way and dependable. He was everything Feliciano had imagined when he was younger, if not more.

Ludwig finished up his routine and grabbed a small cloth and began wiping the sweat from his brow before slipping on a thin tunic.

"Luddy, your body is incredibly wonderful~" Feliciano grinned, standing up to go wrap his arms around his fiancé. The knight's face became incredibly red.

"Wh-what?"

Feliciano smiled and kissed him softly, "You heard me, Luddy!"

Ludwig shook his head and frowned, "Um … thank you … um … how about I train you a bit while we're out here at sea?"

The Illonian groaned and shook his head, "No! I don't want to! I just want to eat some pasta and sleep …"

"You can't always just do that!"

"Yes I can!" Feliciano pouted.

"Come on, just a little bit? Just in case I'm not there beside you." Ludwig frowned.

" … fine … but only if you kiss me." Feliciano grinned.

Ludwig felt his cheeks heat up again, "O-okay. Deal." He leaned down and pressed his lips into Feliciano's. Feliciano moaned happily and threw his arms around Ludwig's neck and held him in place as he deepened the kiss … not that Ludwig minded too much … it was nice.


	16. Chapter 16

Ludwig let his hands wander down Feliciano's waist, rubbing his thumbs in small circles. Feliciano leaned into him and ground his hips against Ludwig's, causing the knight to suddenly push away, his face bright red.

They both just stared at each other, Feliciano is shock and confusion, Ludwig in embarrassment and guilt.

"Wh-what's the matter, Luddy?" Feliciano asked, taking a step forward. Ludwig made a step back, but fell back on the bed, sending up a cloud of dust.

"N-nothing!" the man muttered, dropping his head into his hands. How could he be so perverted with the Illonian‽

It was disgraceful! However, his mind was no longer on the disgraceful way his body was behaving, as Feliciano was crawling up onto the bed, his knee placed in between Ludwig's legs. He was now more worried about how to curb these actions here and now – or if he even wanted to stop them.

His face must have gone ten shades passed red because Feliciano looked worried as he leaned forward and pressed a hand to Ludwig's face. "Are you feeling okay?"

Ludwig grunted in response, his heart beating fast now that he was aware of the Illonian's knee brushing against him in places he'd never paid too much attention to in the past. This was probably coming back to bite him as now he wanted nothing more than to pin Feliciano down and claim the tanned flesh as his own, completely.

It was crude, though! What kind of fiancé was he proving himself to be if he couldn't wait until their wedding night at the very least? He wanted to push Feliciano away, but he couldn't bring himself to do it with the Illonian sitting in his lap and looking so perfect and sweet and worried about his health.

He wrapped his arms around Feliciano and buried his face into the crook of his neck, hoping that maybe it would stop his thoughts from progressing.

His Illonian fiancé giggled and began squirming, "Luddy! Your breath tickles!" Ludwig tried to tighten his grip on him to keep him from wiggling so much, but it only made the younger male wiggle more.

Unfortunately, Feliciano's constant moving meant uncertain results for the Gartyrarren. Feliciano accidentally ground his knee into Ludwig's rising erection, causing the most ungodly, embarrassing noise to rise out of Ludwig's throat. His face burned again at his moan and he avoided Feliciano's eyes as he tried to clear his throat.

Feliciano looked stunned and his cheeks were dusted pink, "L-Luddy?"

When the older male said nothing, Feliciano leaned forward and carefully placed his lips against Ludwig's. Carefully, still, he began kissing Ludwig with all the passion he could muster at the moment without scaring Ludwig away from the moment.

"Ludwig," he started, staring deep into his future husband's eyes, "You can trust me … and I want to be there for you. I know we really didn't have the very best start! But you're with me now." he grabbed Ludwig's big strong hands and led them to his waist, slowly sliding them down to his bottom, "I'm yours, so don't be afraid to …" he trailed off, hoping Ludwig would catch the drift.

The Gartyrarren nodded, swallowing hard, his mouth and throat feeling full of cotton. It was so wrong, but if Feliciano didn't mind …

He reached up to pull Feliciano into a strong kiss. Feliciano moaned softly and pressed himself against Ludwig.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. Maybe it was all the years of pent up hormones and sexual frustration with Ludwig. Maybe he was just ready to let Ludwig claim him. Either way, he wanted him and he wanted him bad.

One thing led to the next and Feliciano found himself pressed into the mattress, his shirt and Ludwig's shirt lying anywhere they could land. Ludwig was lying on top of him, kissing him, his neck, mostly testing was he could and could not do with the Illonian. He'd rather be safe and have a happy lover rather than an upset one.

He gasped slightly when Feliciano's fingers hooked over the edge of his pants and tugged at them.

For a brief moment, he allowed Feliciano to do as he wanted and pull the pants down. He felt his knees go weak and he began shaking with anticipation as Feliciano rubbed his palm against the hardened member.

Ludwig pulled away and Feliciano whimpered, obviously wanting to please Ludwig.

"Feliciano," he huffed, "I know we're engaged and have literally known each other for longer than a day, but are you sure this is okay?" he wanted it, but he couldn't ignore the fact that that this was only day two or three of their reunion.

He was answered with Feliciano biting his lip and moving a bit to grab Ludwig again. Ludwig moaned out loud and leaned forward to capture those swollen lips. His hands worked down to Feliciano's waist, where he was able to work at pulling his pants away as well. He wanted to return the favor he was being given, which was honestly the most amazing feeling he'd ever felt. No wonder his brother constantly did this to himself when he thought Ludwig was sleeping or out.

He grimaced at the mere act of thinking of his brother while he was being intimate with his fiancé.

Tentatively, he brushed his fingers against Feliciano's member. The noise Feliciano made caused Ludwig's member to become painfully hard. The smaller male wiggled and mewled at the touches. He moaned even louder when Ludwig pulled away the last remaining piece of fabric.

After a moment of massaging Feliciano's member, he was at a loss. How was he … ? He had no idea how sex worked between two men.

Luckily, Feliciano seemed to know, as he grabbed one of Ludwig's hands and brought to his own mouth and began sucking on the fingers gingerly, taking time to coat each one in a generous amount of saliva, while also effectively turning Ludwig on even further.

He released the digits and brought them to his entrance and gave Ludwig a knowing look, "One at a time … or it'll hurt really bad."

Ludwig nodded and swallowed dryly. As per instruction, he pushed the sopping wet finger into the entrance directed by Feliciano. He whimpered softly but accepted the digit. Ludwig nervously began pushing and moving the finger around, not entirely sure if this was even comfortable for the man.

The moans that arose let Ludwig know he was doing okay, so he added the second finger. Feliciano whimpered again and wiggled, but Ludwig let him get used to it before moving. It was a slow process, but if this is what one did, he would do it for Feliciano. He stretched his fingers a bit every so often, hoping to please Feliciano well.

After a third finger, Ludwig had moved his fingers a certain way, causing Feliciano to moan loudly and grip Ludwig's shoulders. Curious, Ludwig attempted to recreate the movement, on the second try, he got the same reaction from his lover. He marked this in his memory and leaned down to kiss Feliciano.

"I need you now …" the younger pouted, "please…"

Ludwig felt his heart skip a beat. Was he ready for this? Mentally, of course. Physically, his body was demanding he take the man wiggling beneath him.

Feliciano removed Ludwig's underwear while he was being brain dead. He snapped back to reality when Feliciano stuck his own fingers in his mouth and used the saliva to wet Ludwig's member down, making it nice a slick.

Ludwig trembled with pleasure. He wanted to claim Feliciano so badly. He was ready, that was for sure.

With the Illonian's help, he positioned himself and slowly sunk into the heat around him. It was unlike anything he'd ever imagined before. Feliciano gripped his arms tightly and chewed his lip with a pained expression on his face. Ludwig reached over and ran his fingers down Feliciano's cheek, worried he may have hurt his lover already.

A moment later, Feliciano let out an unsteady breath and released his vice grip to let Ludwig it was okay to move. The man nodded and slowly pulled out almost all the way before pushing back in. He groaned at the shocks of pleasure that filled him. Feliciano grunted softly, enjoying the intimacy, but not finding too much pleasure.

Ludwig helped him out by grabbing his member, hoping it wasn't too forward of him to assume. He felt that Feliciano was missing out on something.

Not a moment later, Feliciano was moaning his name and panting.

With pride that he was creating the feeling that caused Feliciano to react this way and he began moving faster. Feliciano was quick to release his seed all over his belly, his member throbbing in Ludwig's hand. The image and sounds from the orgasm brought Ludwig to climax and he emptied himself deep within Feliciano.

He panted and pulled away from the younger man, hoping their first bedding together would be adequate for the Illonian. To him, it was great, but he had no clue about his fiancé.

"How do you feel?" Ludwig asked, a little frightened that he'd been a rather terrible bed partner for his husband-to-be.

Feliciano laughed lightly and rolled over to face Ludwig, "Ve, It was wonderful, Luddy! I'm on cloud nine!" he kissed the Gartyrarren's cheek, but was soon to fall fast asleep.

Ludwig sighed and got up out of the bed to clean up their mess as well as fold the clothes that had been thrown around the room. When all of that was done, he settled back down in the bed and pulled Feliciano close and covered them up with a thick blanket.

Instead of falling asleep, like he'd hoped, Ludwig ended up lying awake, thinking. His mind wandered aimlessly. Feliciano snuggled closer to him and he sighed softly, rubbing small circles on his back.

What would life be life with Feliciano as his husband? Probably an adventure. He would be loved, and he would definitely try his hardest to be the best he could be. They might go and find a surrogate or adopt a child to raise. Although, Feliciano would probably want more than one.

They would buy a small home one the coast of Sverran so that Ludwig could find work and Feliciano would be close to his family. Maybe, just maybe, they would go travelling to Gartyrarren or even Illonia when it gets better.

He looked down at the sleeping man in his arms and wondered why he ever got mad in the first place. Somewhere deep down, he knew he loved Feliciano more than a friend … and probably even suspected the man to be his lost love. He was so bent on finding a girl, he'd never stopped to read the signs.

Feliciano probably deserved better. He really did. However, Ludwig could be a very selfish man and now that he finally had Feliciano back, he didn't want to let him go. Lovino would be angry for sure. He could hear the queen now, "You bastard! You drove him away! Now you're marrying him‽ You have no right! Blah Blah!" he didn't want to hear it, but unfortunately, you need the king or queen's permission for marriage in Sverran. Antonio would probably not care, but Lovino would be right there to deny the union.

Maybe he could take Feliciano up to Gartyrarren for their marriage? No … Feliciano would be adamant about having his brother there. Oh well. They could have a simple and happy life just being together, right? He hoped so.

Finally, sleep pulled at the knight and he dozed into a dreamless sleep.


	17. Luck Has Run Out

The following week aboard was very much the same. Boring days sitting in their rooms, on deck or anywhere they could find that they were allowed to go. Nights filled with either lying awake and talking about whatever Feliciano found interesting or making love. Feliciano appeared to have a large sexual appetite.

Ludwig didn't mind now that he'd gotten the hang of what he was doing, but he wondered how someone could show to be so … interesting in bed.

Feliciano liked biting and scratching, he seemed to like trying different positions, which both shocked and pleased Ludwig.

At the start of their second week on the ship Feliciano sat alone in the room drawing on a piece of paper he'd found with a small piece of coal. Ludwig finished washing his face in a large chipped bowl. He dried his face and turned to see Feliciano humming to himself while he was drawing. He popped a piece of something into him mouth and chewed mindlessly. He'd seen Feliciano eat some of this candy a few times before.

"What is that you're eating?" Ludwig asked, sitting beside the Illonian. Feli looked up and raised his brow.

"Oh! The candy I found in Kiku's room." He held up a piece of the candy. However, Ludwig doubted this was any kind of candy he'd seen before. Maybe it was a special mermaid kind?

He grabbed it from Feliciano and sniffed it, however he grimaced. It smelled rather bitter and looked like it would taste like seaweed or fish. He handed it back. If that's what he liked …

Feliciano smiled and stuck the piece back in the little pouch he was keeping them in.

A moment later, there was a knock at the door and Ludwig let Kiku and Herakles in the room.

"Can I help you?" Ludwig asked as the two of them made their way into the room.

Kiku looked quite distraught. Herakles rubbed his shoulder and looked at Ludwig, "You know how we once explained to you that my mother and Prince Gupta's mother were powerful with magic and were able to construct the barrier that protects the kingdom? The powers were obviously genetic. I have certain abilities as well."

"And?"

"And, I had a dream last night which seemed prophetic. We need to get off this boat as soon as possible or risk losing our lives." Herakles said through his tired expression.

Kiku trembled, his hands wrapped tightly around his slightly swollen stomach.

"Why? What's going to happen?" Ludwig asked, watching as Feliciano jumped up to comfort his best friend.

Herakles sighed, anger flashing through his eyes and he pulled Kiku closer to him, "Someone apparently found out Kiku is a merman. Their species is becoming so rare that they are being hunted for sport. Their scales can be used as decoration and blades, their blood for healing, their –" he cut off seeing the conversation making his beloved uncomfortable.

Ludwig nodded, knowing that in some of the southern coastal cities he'd visited before, as well as the eastern cities close to the actual location of the merkingdom sold such products.

"So we need to get off the ship because they could possibly hunt him?" Ludwig walked to the truck where he kept his belongings.

"No, we have to." Herakles explained, "If we stay they will kill him. If we try and fight them back, they will kill you and me, then him and Feliciano. If we leave, we'll end up in southern Illonia. That's as far as my vision let me see. It was the only path I could see giving us a possible survival."

Ludwig nodded, tying his boots and getting his equipment, "So how do we leave?"

"We find a small boat." Herakles mentioned pulling out a piece of paper he'd hand drawn a diagram of the ship on, "I've mapped out the ship just in case we'd need it. There are a few smaller boats back here. Unfortunately, we're going to have to knock out the man who stands watch here – and here." He pointed to the two spots where there were men standing guard to keep people in line to assure a safe journey.

"Leave them to me." Ludwig mumbled, "Get supplies, Kiku and Feliciano to the boat and drop it into the water. I'll get overboard when I've got them taken out.

Herakles nodded, handing the map to Ludwig.

The rest of the day was spent packing up whatever they would need for the trip while Ludwig made perimeters around the ship in order to be where he needed to be.

As soon as the sun went down, he snuck up behind the first man who stood beside the boats. He slammed the hilt of his sword against the man's head, knocking him to the ground. He quickly and quietly dragged him to a small pile of crates to hide him.

When he finished with that he made his way to the second man. He had to be quick and stealthy, something he honestly had trouble with. He was no assassin, just a knight.

However, the gods seemed to be on his side as he easily took out the second man as well. He peered around the corner and found the boat missing, probably somewhere in the water with his group.

He hid the second man and made his way down the deck now that their threats where gone, however, he was pushed against the wall.

"You!" the first man growled, "You're friends with that merman, aren't you? Where the hell is he?" the blade of the knife pressed into his neck.

Ludwig growled and looked around at the men surrounding him. There were three total, "I don't know."

The knife pressed hard and he could feel the blood dripping down his collar bone, "Lies. He was in your room earlier today. Where the hell is he?"

"I have no idea, and even if I did, I would not tell you."

The man holding the knife against him let a moment of frustration get to him. Ludwig used this moment to break free of the grip. He knocked the knife away and raised his foot up to kick the man back. As that man stumbled to the ground, another man took his place, knocking his fist against Ludwig's jaw.

"Just tell us where the damn merman is and we'll spare you and your little boyfriend!"

At the mention of any type of harm to Feliciano, the man growled, "You will not touch him!" he threw a punch at the man and reached for his sword, but just as he'd drawn it, the third hunter lurched forward with a bar and hit Ludwig's arm, flinging the sword down a few yards, while also sending shocking pain up Ludwig's arm.

He felt sick looking at the lumpy flesh, where the broken bones were pressing up. He held his arm close and tried to throw a punch at the man closest to him, but with three hunters and a broken arm, this wouldn't end well for Ludwig.

Closing his eyes, Ludwig hoped he'd bought enough time for Kiku and Feliciano to get a safe enough distance away.

"What the fuck‽" one of the men shouted. The sound of blood hitting wood alerted Ludwig to a change in what had happened. He opened his eyes to see the first man lying in a pool of his own blood, his neck sliced wide open.

His eyes quickly searched for the source and stumbled back seeing Feliciano standing over the man's body, blood speckled across his face and Ludwig's sword in hand.

The once golden eyes were darkened and angry, "Leave now and I'll spare you both." He muttered.

They only laughed and held up their weapons, a long knife and the bar, "You think a sneak attack on Asvan could seriously scare us?" the man with the knife lunged forward and tried to stab Feliciano in the stomach, but the smaller man quickly spun his body around the knife, arms in the air. He balanced fast and brought the sword down mid spin, cutting right through the man's neck as well.

More blood spilled out on the deck.

He pointed the sword towards the third man and glared.

The third man dropped his weapon and took a step back, "The rest of the men won't be happy about you, kid. You've made a terrible mistake. Nowhere to hide on this ship!" he began running.

Feliciano turned to Ludwig and cleaned the sword off on the fallen man's shirt, "Quickly. Herakles said you weren't supposed to fight them!" he began running.

Ludwig snapped out of his trance and followed after Feliciano.

They made it to where the small boat was suspended right off the edge of the ship, out of sight from the rest of the ship, but still close enough for Ludwig and Feliciano to drop on board.

Once they were seated, Herakles began lowering them, "What took you so long?"

Ludwig looked at Feliciano, who wasn't facing him, but rather talking to Kiku. The merman was busy wiping away the blood on Feliciano's face.

"The hunters ambushed me. Did you know that was going to happen?" the Gartyrarren looked at him warily.

Herakles nodded, "Unfortunately, if I'd have told you, you would have been killed. Feliciano as well."

"A warning would have been nice." Ludwig growled, reaching for his sword with his good hand. He made sure it was clean before sliding it back into the sheath. He looked at Feliciano again, but said nothing as he pulled out his pack and began tending to him arm.

Pain ripped through his arm and shoulder as he set the bone and prepared to wrap it.

"Luddy?" Feliciano turned around, his golden eyes returned to their warmth. He grabbed the bandage from Ludwig, who had been struggling with it and set the stents before wrapping it with the bandage tightly.

"They broke your arm?" Herakles asked.

Ludwig nodded, "When I tried to fight back." Feliciano silently worked on getting it wrapped up well, then he grabbed a cloth and dipped it into the sea to clean the cut on Ludwig's neck.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Feliciano whispered.

Ludwig wrapped both arms around him, being careful not to upset his broken arm and kissed his ear discreetly before whispering, "I'm glad you are as well."

He let go, "Why weren't you on this boat? Why would you put yourself in danger?"

Feliciano wiggled uncomfortably, looking like a kicked puppy, "I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry." Ludwig sighed, pulling Feliciano to his other side to give them a semblance of privacy and hold him with his good arm, "I was worried about you … that's all. You could have been killed or hurt."

The Illonian opened his mouth to speak, but Ludwig held his finger against his lips, "Your fighting was better this time than last time... you never cease to amaze me."

With a relieved smile, Feliciano happily told him how at first the fairy in the castle of ice taught him a few things he knew, but he learned more from Kiku and Herakles and eventually developed his own style.

"I had to know how to fight for when I finally left the palace." He finished, leaning his head on Ludwig's shoulder and closing his eyes.

Ludwig rubbed his shoulder and leaned against his head and nodded, "I'm glad you learned. Thank you - Um - For getting them off of me earlier."

Feliciano smiled proudly and snugged into Ludwig's side, finally dozing off.

With the throbbing in his arm keeping him awake, Ludwig decided to stay up with Herakles as the man steered the small boat towards Illonia.

He hoped he would be able to fight when they got there or else they might not make it passed the first naga.


	18. Intense Pains

Just as their supplies began running low, they reached shore. It was an abandoned coastal city. Ludwig looked around and saw signs that the Sverran soldiers had been through here, so the area was possibly safe for them to travel in.

Feliciano stuck close to Kiku and both walked behind Ludwig and in front of Herakles, so that they might stay safe.

While in the city, they were able to stock up on supplies found lying around, mostly fresh fruits and veggies growing wildly from where they hadn't been tended to in possibly years.

"Let's find a place to sleep for the night. Tomorrow, we'll head out again." Ludwig suggested. A tired looking Herakles nodded in agreement. He'd been forced to stay awake for a vast majority of their time in the small boat since Ludwig could not row very well. When Herakles did sleep, Ludwig was to stay awake and make sure they stayed on coarse.

He had never felt so useless before. Not since the naga accident when he was young. He rubbed his sore arm through the bandage and hoped it healed soon.

That night, the four of them held up in a small abandoned home. It was able to be barricaded so they could all get a decent night's sleep. Ludwig helped Feliciano prepare some semblance of a hot meal for them.

As they all sat down to eat, Kiku set his meal aside, "I am sorry. It's my fault we had to get off the ship."

Feliciano and Herakles were quick to reassure him there was nothing wrong, but Ludwig couldn't help but silently agree. While they couldn't help that they had a merman aboard, Kiku and Herakles could have possible been more careful to conceal the identity. He shook the feeling away, considering there was nothing much they could do now. He ate and went up to a room to sleep.

He was joined by his fiancé a short moment later. Feliciano crawled onto the dusty bed a right up next to Ludwig. Ludwig wrapped his good arm around him protectively, "Feliciano," he started, his voice low, "I might need you to take weapon in hand and fight for us … with my arm out of commission, I can't wield my sword. Can you do that?" He hated asking. He was the knight, he was the one who was supposed to protect them. However, he was weakened and Feliciano had shown he could fight when he had to.

"But …" Feliciano muttered. He opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it and nodded, "Okay … I can do that for you, Luddy."

"Thank you. I promise I won't let you get hurt, but I can't fight for us. I wish I didn't have to ask this of you." He kissed Feliciano gently. It was still strange for him to be so close to Feliciano so soon after their reunion, but it felt right to comfort the Illonian with kisses in private and to hold him close. He found that rubbing Feliciano's shoulders made him happy, so Ludwig would do that as much as he could.

"Luddy … my stomach hurts." Feliciano complained, curling up into a ball. Ludwig frowned and sat up. He caressed his back and hoped it would help his lover.

Feliciano groaned and curled up tighter, "It hurts!"

Ludwig began to panic. He stuck his head out the door, "Kiku! Feliciano is in pain!"

Only a moment later, the merman came running into the room, "What is wrong?" he knelt beside Feliciano, who had switched to a position where his was doubled over his own lap.

"My stomach … pain … everywhere." He forced out.

Kiku managed to get Feliciano to lie out on his back before he proceeded to poke and prod to determine where the pain was coming from. After a moment, Kiku frowned, "All of his muscles are cramping up. I can't tell where the pain is coming from since he whines no matter where I touched. I'll go get some hot water and a cloth to lay over his stomach to see if it helps. Let me know if there is anything else."

Ludwig nodded and made his way back to Feliciano's side. He rubbed his back and frowned, feeling more useless than before. Tears soaked the musty blanket they say on.

As per Kiku's instructions, Ludwig soaked the cloth in the hot water and brought set it out on Feliciano's abdomen. This seemed to help some and Feliciano managed to fall asleep. However, Ludwig pressed his fingers into Feliciano's side to find his muscles were not relaxing.

Once Ludwig was sure Feliciano would not wake up from the pain, he was able to finally get some sleep.

He awoke to Feliciano kicking him in his sleep. His eyes opened and adjusted to the light filtering in through the curtains and he let out a yawn. It was still pretty early in the morning. Feliciano had drool rolling down his face and he had somehow managed to slip out of his pants in his sleep.

Ludwig pressed his fingers to Feliciano's stomach again and found his muscles were no longer stiff. He sighed in relief and hoped their luck would hold out until they could get Feliciano to a proper medic.

The group ate a quick, light breakfast and then was off. The Sverran soldiers must have done a pretty good job in the last year or so. There were no signs of naga or dragons anywhere. It was a relief, honestly. After last night's fit, Ludwig was afraid for Feli to fight.

Their first several days went like this. Their nights were spent in abandoned housing or camping out. Feliciano would suffer stomach pain until they could sooth him to sleep. Their days were spent walking abandoned streets and roads, just trying to reach a place where there were Sverran guards and soldiers that could escort them to the kingdom, or a port city where they could stock up a boat and head straight across the sea to the capital.

Ludwig stretched and pushed up off the pile of leaves he'd slept in. Birds sang their morning songs, filling the Gartyrarren man with a sense of peace for a brief moment. Last night had been one of the worst nights with Feliciano's new illness. He had been kept up for hours just rocking the man back and forth.

It was the same routine. He'd go to sleep crying in pain, then wake up feeling great. He looked wonderful all day, as well. It was baffling all three of the others.

He pulled out a water skin and took a small sip, trying to save some for Feliciano for when he awoke.

Kiku was the second to rise. Over the last month of travel, he'd definitely begun to show in his pregnancy. It was the absolute weirdest thing for him to see. He now knew that it was normal for merpeople, but he was just not used to the image. He sighed and helped Kiku make something small to eat.

"Thank you." Kiku muttered appreciatively, taking a bite of the simple breakfast.

"You're welcome." Ludwig nodded, "I have a question."

Dull brown eyes looked up, "Yes, Mr. Ludwig?"

"Is it even safe for you to be walking around so much, living off little food and water in your condition?"

Kiku set his bowl down in his lap and looked off into the woods, "Truthfully, no, it's not. But I don't think we have much choice now. We have to get to civilization before I'm too far along." He looked to his now trembling hands, "I'd rather not think about it, but I can always have another if we lose this one."

"I'm sorry." Ludwig whispered, feeling awful for upsetting the merman, "Have you two thought of what names you'd like?"

A small, almost nonexistent smile appeared on Kiku's lips and his nodded, "Herakles wants to name the child Dorian. If it's a girl, I would love to name her Youka."

Ludwig smiled and nodded, "Those sound like strong names."

Kiku nodded.

Later that day, they walked along a beaten path in the woods. Feliciano groaned, rubbing his stomach, showing early signs of his illness. Luckily, it didn't progress too far before they came upon a small outpost.

There were Sverran men and women standing around, mostly drinking and having a good time. One of them looked over and jumped up from the crate he had been sitting on, "Who the hell goes there?"

Ludwig stepped forward, "Sir Ludwig Beilschmidt and companions, Kiku and Herakles Karpusi and Feliciano Vargas. We were lost for some time. We're just travelers coming up from Extyr."

The soldiers made their way over and began inspecting them over. They grabbed up all possible weapons and dropped them into a bag, "Follow us."

Doing as they were told, they were taken into a large tent where their head of command was stationed.

The man was in his late thirties and had tanned skin, "Please be seated. Get them some water, please." He said to the soldier who had led them in, "Can I ask what you're doing this far in Illonia? Don't you know it's still dangerous?"

Ludwig nodded, "Of course. I was traveling through Extyr with my friends here and we decided to go to Sverran, however, while out in the water, we had some major difficulty and ended up stranded in Illonia. All that we ask is a way to Sverran."

The man nodded, "We can help you. However, it will still be a day or two before our trip to Sverran for a supply run. You'll be able to leave with them then. Until then, though, we'll get you set up with some living quarters and food."

He sent them out with a soldier, who was given orders to find them a place with other refugees.

There was a small building left from the village they were near. The walls were covered in vines and dirt and a few parts were slightly burned. They were taken inside, "Go where you please. They have meals set up thrice a day. Tomorrow, bright and early, we'll be heading out. We'll give you the weapons back once we're at the refugee camp."

Ludwig nodded and looked around. The room wasn't exactly filled with Illonian refugees, but there were a few people, one or two of them grouped together as families.

Feliciano made his way to a cot and sat down, "Luddy … I'm not feeling well." The larger man sat beside him and began rubbing his back soothingly.

"This is getting to be rather worrying, Feliciano. You've been in pain for days now."

"I know!" Feliciano cried, burying his face into Ludwig's chest, "I don't know what's wrong! I'm scared!" Ludwig held him close, a bit embarrassed because of the people watching Feliciano cry out loud.

"Shhhh—"

"It hurts again!"

"Shhhh." Ludwig whispered softly, pulling Feliciano into his lap and rocking him. The pain was no longer being contained to night time, and could possibly get them thrown from the group. If there was even the smallest chance whatever Feliciano had was contagious, they wouldn't be happy. There was a risk he could pass it to other people. An entire camp could get sick.

"Feliciano, I know you're in pain, and I'm sorry there's nothing I can do, but if they find out you're sick, you're risking getting us kicked out of the group. Kiku can't possibly keep walking the entire way to Sverran. If you can hold out just a little longer, if you can keep this sickness as quiet as possible, I promise I'll give you anything you want." He felt bad for bribing Feliciano quiet, especially since it could be serious … but … he figured the king and queen would have far better doctors anyway. Hopefully, they would make it there within the week. There would be carriages instead of walking. It shouldn't take too long.

He hoped hard that they would make it quickly. Feliciano had fallen asleep, unfortunately, without eating, which meant he'd probably be begging for Ludwig's food as well as his own. He laid out the Illonian in the cot and covered him up with the blanket supplied. Ludwig grabbed a nearby cot and brought it over to the one his fiancé laid upon.

Herakles brought him some of the lunch they had offered while he sat and kept an eye on Feliciano. The Illonian didn't wake through the rest of the night.

When morning came, the Sverran soldiers woke the refugees up and told them to grab their things. They were all loaded up into the carriages and were getting ready to head out.

Feliciano still had not woken, which in any other circumstance, would not have worried Ludwig, however, he had slept a good long while.

He picked him, and their belongings up, and carried him to the carriage they were assigned.

"What's wrong with 'im?" one of the soldiers asked.

Ludwig shifted his weight and laid the man down across their seats, "He's not a morning person. Won't wake up to save his life." Which was true enough. But Ludwig frowned to himself, knowing that there was something wrong.

The trip was quiet for the first few hours. Unfortunately, Kiku and Herakles were in a different carriage, so that left Ludwig with a sleeping Feliciano and a man and a woman he'd seen the previous night. They kept to themselves, seemed distraught about something. Possibly their lives before the rescue. He kept to himself as well, calmly running his fingers through Feliciano's hair until about noon when the younger man began shifting. He sat up and yawned, looking around confused.

"Where are we?" he asked, sleepily, confused.

"On our way to Sverran." Ludwig answered, handing Feliciano a small wrapped box, "Kiku wrapped this up for when you finally woke up."

Feliciano took it and opened it up to find some leftover food from breakfast. He felt his stomach rumble, but found the food to be rather unappetizing. He thanked Ludwig and closed the box up, setting it aside.

"A-are you okay?" Ludwig didn't know what to think. Feliciano never turned down food, especially if he had missed a meal or three.

The golden eyed man nodded, smiling, "Just not hungry."

"Well, try and eat something, okay? You have to keep up your strength. It would be pitiful to have you collapsing when you see your brother again."

With a sigh, Feliciano reluctantly began eating. He quickly regretted the decision as he soon felt sick afterwards. Luckily, he managed to keep it down. He slipped into his own supplies and found the small bag of candy he'd taken from Kiku and saw he was running low on the sweets. He frowned sadly and ate a piece, feeling much better than before.

Ludwig watched him carefully, "Are you sure you should be eating candy? What if that's what's making you sick?"

"Don't be silly, Luddy. I was eating it for a while before the pain came along." He chuckled, putting the bag away.

Not wanting to upset the now happy Feliciano, he was forced to let it go. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that the candy caused it.


	19. It Will Get Worse Before it Gets Better

As expected, the groups made it out of Illonia without any trouble. Whatever the King of Sverran and the soon to be king of Illonia had done, it seemed to be working. Illonia would be habitable again in no time. This led Ludwig to wonder if Feliciano would want to return to his home or stay with his brother.

Speaking of, Feliciano was no longer suffering from stomach pains. It had gone away about two days into their trip. He seemed to be quite healthy and happy, although his appetite had yet to return, so Ludwig knew he wasn't 100% better yet.

At the rate they were travelling, they would be at the castle in a matter of a day or two. They had learned that this would be the destination, not the border camps.

Ludwig had overheard that it was because one of the men had to deliver a special report to the king.

It made it all better for them anyway. Ludwig wouldn't have to make Kiku or Feliciano walk the distance and they could focus more on resting. Kiku was getting bigger, it seemed, every day and seemed to have a bit of back trouble, being about a month or two until full term. This baffled Ludwig, until Kiku explained merpeople grew really fast in order to ensure their survival. Gestation for merpeople was six months, sometimes a bit longer for crossbreeds and the children learned to swim within months of birth and could look the part of a four year old child by age two. Ludwig found it fascinating.

Ludwig felt a bit better now that they were finally on a smooth trip to the Sverran capital. Kiku and Herakles refused to talk to anyone, therefore, no one could find out Kiku was a merman because of his accent or mannerisms when he spoke.

The further north they went, they noticed how cold it was getting. The Gartyrarren man closed his eyes to rest, recalling that it was about this time of year when he'd first travelled to Illonia in search of his golden eyed beauty.

He pulled out his old blanket and let Feliciano have it since he was probably more prone to the cold because of his illness, which he was still denying he had.

Feliciano accepted it happily, curling up in it, happy to be warm in the cool weather.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ludwig asked, considering Feliciano hadn't eaten that morning.

"I'm fine, Luddy! I haven't felt better!" Feliciano smiled. Ludwig had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong with him still, despite how well he really seemed. He sighed and looked out his window to see the falling leaves floating to the ground with wind stirring them up and tossing them around.

Lunch rolled around and the soldiers passed out the rations for the meal, which consisted no more than a bit of soft white cheese, a thin slice of hard bread and a few slices of tomato. It wasn't Ludwig's personal favorite meal, but it was enough to fill him.

Feliciano nibbled the bread, but turned his nose up at the cheese and tomatoes. Ludwig frowned, "You need to eat more, keep up your strength." He warned the Illonian.

"But the cheese is yucky! I used to like it, but I just don't want it … it's making me sick."

"And the tomatoes?"

"I would rather eat some salted pork right now." he mumbled.

"Then at least eat my bread, too. You need more in your stomach." He handed Feliciano the piece of bread, which he happily devoured. Ludwig ate what bit of their meal he had left.

Dinner was much the same, Feliciano complained of being hungry, but he wouldn't eat anything placed before him. He knew the Illonian could be really picky about what he ate, but if he was starving, he would eat anything.

That night, they were allowed to sleep in little private rooms in an outpost. Ludwig and Feliciano were put into one of the rooms and given a pillow and blanket to share, since nothing else could be spared.

The knight sighed and walked over to the mat on the floor and sat down. He propped up their pillow and kicked off his boots and lied down, "You'll have to sleep on my chest.."

Feliciano made his verbal tic noise before pulling off his boots. He straddled Ludwig's hips and instead of lying down to sleep, the Illonian ground himself against Ludwig, causing the blond to gasp, "Feli‽"

The Illonian leaned down and kissed him deeply to shut him up, "It's been so long, Luddy~ My stomach no longer hurts~ I feel great…" he nibbled on Ludwig's neck, "Make love to me… please~?"

Ludwig stared up at his fiancé in shock, "Th-the walls are thin! Someone will hear us…"

Feliciano rubbed his hips against Ludwig's again, moaning softly, "See, Luddy … I can be quiet~"

The knight was still hesitant, "Feliciano … we need to rest… we'll be at the castle tomorrow …"

His fiancé leaned down and bit his lip, sucking on it gently, "You haven't touched me in so long… don't you like my body anymore?" he whimpered softly, his erection pressing down on Ludwig's stomach now. Feliciano grabbed his hands and trailed them down his own back, shivering.

"Of course I still like your body…" he was worried about Feliciano's sickness. His pain could come back at any moment.

Feliciano bucked his hips against Ludwig's, "Th-then there's no problem…" he leaned down and licked Ludwig's earlobe, "I need to feel you inside me… Please?" he whimpered, bucking his hips again, desperate for friction.

Ludwig groaned. How could he keep saying no to Feliciano practically melting over the slightest touches and begging so beautifully? He reached his arms up to lock his fingers behind Feliciano's head and pull him down into a rough kiss. He moaned into the kiss and slid his hands up his sides.

Breaking the kiss a moment later, the knight panted, "F-Feli…"

Feliciano cut him off by pulling at his shirt. Once it was removed, he removed his own and grabbed Ludwig's hands to place on his chest, "Touch me…" he commanded softly before working at the belt that held Ludwig's pants in place.

Ludwig licked his lips and nodded, running his hands down his lover's chest and shoulders. He rubbed Feliciano's nipples in little circles.

Ludwig moaned softly as Feliciano pulled down his pants just enough to release his half hard member. Feliciano gripped it softly and squeezed.

The knight rolled his hips and the action made Feliciano grin ear to ear. He leaned down and began sucking harshly on Ludwig's neck, purposefully trying to leave a dark bruise there.

Gasping, Ludwig gripped Feliciano's hips.

It wasn't long before both men were desperately grinding their naked bodies together, seeking release. Feliciano panted and bit his lip, trying to keep his moaning quiet. He gave Ludwig a hazy look and the man licked his lips.

He raised his fingers to Feliciano's mouth and the Illonian shook his head, "I've somethin' better…" he muttered, leaning down to his bag to grab a metal flask, "Oils… so you won't hurt me again…"

"I hurt you‽" Ludwig exclaimed, however, was cut off by chapped lips against his. He felt awful.

"Just stinging… this'll help…"

Ludwig nodded and drizzled the oils onto his finger and slid them up against Feliciano's entrance, exciting the young man more. He happily pushed his ass against the fingers, which slid in all too easily with the lubricant. Ludwig set it aside as he prepared his fiancé.

Feliciano, however, took the flask into his own hands, while simultaneously panting and rocking his hips back against Ludwig's hand. He poured out some of the oil onto his hand and slathered Ludwig's member.

He moaned Feliciano's name softly, encouraging the Illonian's next actions. He moved away from Ludwig's hand and without warning, seated himself completely on the thick member.

Feliciano threw his head back and let out a breathy, though soft, moan. Ludwig gripped his hips and bit his lip. He had to pull the pillow over his face in order to muffle his moaning because a moment later, Feliciano was riding him. He bounced in his lap and moaned softly, biting his lip until he tasted the metallic blood in his mouth.

Ludwig moved the pillow back behind his head once he'd regained control of his vocals and grabbed Feliciano's hips like an anchor as he bucked up into him and pulled him down at the same time. Feliciano almost doubled over, but caught himself on Ludwig's chest, his mouth wide open, eyes tightly shut in a silent scream of ecstasy.

His elbows wobbled and waved under the pressure of his weight and the weakened state his was in. The Illonian whimpered softly, "L-Lud…" he whispered, "Lud…"

"F-Fuck…Fe-Feliciano…!" Ludwig panted. He felt the all too familiar – and much needed – bubbling heat rising in his loins. His release was closing in on him. However, he still knew Feliciano deserved to cum first since he'd been the one wanting it so badly.

Ludwig reached down with his hand and gripped Feliciano's member and began stroking him at the same pace his lover was bouncing. Feliciano let out a strangled gasp and his elbows buckled. He caught himself and moved faster, "G-gonna…oh god, Luddy… I'm gonna c-cum! Haaah!"

Within moments of the declaration, Ludwig felt Feliciano tightened around him and the warm liquid splatter all the way up to his chin. Grimacing lightly, he continued thrusting as the near exhausted Feliciano continued bouncing, wanting Ludwig to cum as well. A few more thrusts brought about his release as he shot into Feliciano, filling his lover to the brim, it felt like.

Feliciano instantly collapsed onto Ludwig's sticky chest. He groaned as Ludwig's limp member slid out of him and he shuddered as the seed leaked down over her flesh. He leaned up a bit to kiss Ludwig deeply, moaning in delight as Ludwig kissed him back with fervor.

They rested for a moment, just breathing, catching their breath. Feliciano blushed darkly, but giggled seeing how uncomfortable Ludwig was with his semen all over his chest and neck and even a little bit of his face.

Once either were able to move again, Ludwig grabbed the water bowl and began cleaning them up, paying a little extra love and care to Feliciano's intimate area, worried about Feliciano's admitted secret from before. He hadn't realized he'd hurt him before and he was upset he hadn't noticed. Soon, they were both clean and re dressed and settled down to sleep.

When morning came, Feliciano seemed happier and bouncier for about an hour. It wasn't until his meager meal of bread with a little bit of butter and honey, that he was hit with exhaustion, as if he'd not slept at all.

This worried Ludwig because he knew Feliciano had slept well. He'd fallen asleep first and woke up last.

His mind once again went to Feliciano's illness. His loss of appetite and now fatigue… maybe pain was only the first step…

He didn't dwell on it, only kept an eye on him while they rode their carriages into the Sverran camps. From there, they switched over to a new set of carriages heading directly into the capital. Feliciano groaned softly and clung to Ludwig, complaining about his stomach.

Ludwig thought he was getting pained again, but Feliciano said it wasn't the same and it had already passed. Kiku and Ludwig both tried to get more information out of him.

Feliciano pushed them both away and clutched his belly. Luckily, they were no longer traveling with anyone but each other and the guards, so there was no worry about others finding out he was sick, however, gaining entry to the castle while sick might prove difficult.

Ludwig rubbed Feliciano's back as they rode. They camped out that night, where Feliciano begged and begged for more sex, but Ludwig strictly turned him down due to his relapse with his illness earlier.

Ludwig was grateful when they spotted the castle in the distance. A few more hours and he would have Feliciano back where he belonged and with some proper medical care.

Feliciano stared out the window, a frown on his face. He'd refused to talk to Ludwig since the night before.

Kiku scooted over beside him, "Feliciano…" he said softly, "The baby is fluttering.. would you like to feel?"

This perked Feliciano up immediately. He turned and leaned over to press his hands to Kiku's belly. He grinned brightly, "Ah! I felt the baby!" he said as the child's hand pushed against his through Kiku's stomach.

"The baby is getting cramped in there…. A month or so to go." He smiled warmly, rubbing his belly.

Feliciano smiled and stayed like that, cooing over Kiku's belly, luckily forgetting his previous anger at Ludwig.

The remaining time was spent in silence. Kiku and Feliciano both passed out completely, leaving Herakles and Ludwig awake and waiting. Herakles still looked sleep deprived, which made Ludwig wonder how bad having someone pregnant and traveling wore down on your nerves, trying to make sure they were always comfortable.

Their journey soon came to a sweet end as the carriage pulled into the Sverran castle ground late that after noon. Ludwig stepped out of the carriage and stretched his arms over his head. Feliciano seemed nervous as he stepped out of the carriage. He figured his brother would be furious at him.

Ludwig rubbed his back and grabbed his hand, "Everything will be okay…"

Feliciano nodded, though obviously not convinced. The four of them started for the steps.


	20. Il Mio Fratello

A servant led the four through the castle. All seemed silent, people giving wary glances at the four. Some lit up with recognition, but it faded when they realized Feliciano was not their queen.

The servant knocked at the door, bringing an annoyed 'what' out of the person in the room.

He opened the door, "You have guests."

"Let them in." the familiar voice said.

Ludwig led them in. Antonio, the king of Sverran, lit up and smiled, "Feliciano!" he shouted. Feliciano smiled weakly at him.

"Highness?" the woman sitting in front of the desk asked in confusion. Ludwig glanced her over. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The woman wore the clothes of royalty. However, not just any royalty. He knew these clothes were ones Lovino wore.

The knight raised his brow. Antonio invited them in, "I'm sorry if now isn't exactly the best time for your homecoming ... I'm in the middle of something. We were recently attacked by a snow dragon from the East..." he said offering them seat.

Feliciano gasped, but looked at his brother in law, "Where's my brother..?"

"He's in hiding..." Antonio answered bitterly, "I can have you sent there immediately if you'd like, but I'm glad you're here. Francis told me you had been kidnapped by the ice dragon from his place. If you got out, one or more of you know where it is."

Ludwig looked at him, "I do. I got the king of Evenna's help locating the castle." he said, "I know how to get you there."

Antonio nodded, "Thank you.." he said, looking to the woman, "I'm going to get your babies back."

She choked back a sob and put her hands over her mouth as tears started to stream down her cheeks "Th-Thank you, Highness..."

The king nodded and let out a deep sigh, "What exactly is you mission?" he asked the woman, "So we know how to keep fooling them into thinking you're doing what you're supposed to. Even if we have to disguise you again, I need them believing you're still working until we can infiltrate their castle."

Ludwig watched carefully, his own bout of confusion rising up. Antonio hadn't been kidding. Now was a terrible time to visit. A dragon threat, a woman in disguise, the queen in hiding. He knew he had to help in any way he could.

"I was sent to weaken your will in any way possible, Highness, as well as send information back to Ivan..." she blinked when a light tapping was heard from the window.

The woman rose from the seat and pushed the beautifully crafted glass open, only to have a small white dragon fly up her shirt and wrap itself around her stomach "Oh honey..." she sighed, pulling the scaly dragon from its hiding place "I know he's scary, but we have to do this..." she cooed softly, letting the small creature nuzzle up against her cheek.

Feliciano winced and ducked behind Ludwig when he saw the little snow dragon. Memories of what Ivan put him through must have resurfaced. Ludwig looked up.

The Sverran king raised his brow, "Who is that?" he asked, rather calmly.

"A pet, Highness. She is a companion for me, and a protector of my children, just as Ariana is for your family" glancing at Feliciano, she just smiled and giggled "There's no reason to be afraid of her, dearest. She won't hurt you. She likes you~"

Antonio chuckled softly, "She's very pretty… my children would love to see her…" a saddened expression came over his face, "They'll be turning four soon…" he said softly.

The young Illonian started to inch away from Ludwig's side and the knight tried to grab his arm, but Feliciano pulled away and faced his fears. He smiled, nuzzling against the little dragon.

Ludwig frowned, licking his lips. He wondered how any of those things could ever be considered safe or harmless.

"My babies are turning one next month..." she murmured while running her finger down the small dragon's back "I'm sure they're probably scared to death without me there..."

Antonio balled up his fists and looked at her, "Elizabeth, I'm sorry to hear that. We'll get them back as soon as possible. I promise. Feli, would you like to go stay with Lovino and the twins?"

Feliciano nodded happily.

Ludwig looked a bit worried about this decision, but looked at his friends Kiku, several months pregnant, "Kiku and Herakles go too."

Herakles looked at him, "I don't think so. I'm helping you. Kiku will go with Feliciano. As long as he has water for when he gives birth..." the man said firmly.

Kiku frowned, "Herakles…" he rubbed his belly.

Antonio sighed, "Feliciano and Kiku go, Ludwig and Herakles stay and how about we focus on finding this god damn dragon‽" he said a bit angrily.

Ludwig stared at Antonio in shock, while Feliciano winced and hid slightly behind Elizabeth.

Elizabeth nibbled her lower lip "Herakles needs to go to the beach house. He needs to be there for his husband and his babies..."

Picking up her dragon, she held the little thing in her hands right in front of her face "Listen up, little one. I want you to go to the beach house with Feliciano, okay? You will protect him and everyone else there. Understand?" once the small dragon nodded, Elizabeth wrapped the creature around the Illonian's neck loosely "Take care of Snow for me, okay?"

Feliciano nodded and smiled, "I promise, miss Elizabeth~!"

Herakles huffed, "I will stay and help."

Antonio winced, realizing if this dragged out too long he would end up missing his family growing up. He sighed, "Herakles… go … you don't want to miss a moment, trust me."

Herakles bowed and nodded, although quite reluctant he was being placed on the sidelines.

Antonio called for servants to come escort the three to the beach house. Feliciano kissed Ludwig goodbye and then he was off, once again on another journey.

Ludwig waved him off as Elizabeth wished them a safe journey. Looking to Antonio, he sighed, "I'm worried about Feliciano… he's been fighting off a sickness for a few weeks now… Lovino is going to kill me…"

Antonio sighed, "There's medics that can help him. As for now…" he looked at Elizabeth and Ludwig, "We have more pressing matters to attend to. Come, I'll have lunch prepared and we'll talk about plans." The two nodded and followed after him as he went back inside.

Feliciano bounced happily in his seat, eagerly awaiting to see his brother and his cute little niece and nephew again. He was too excited!

He looked at Kiku and Herakles, who'd both fallen asleep rather quickly. He smiled. They needed it.

Eventually, he too fell asleep. The hours passed and soon, Feliciano was awoken to the carriage stopping. He looked around confused, "Wh-where are we…?"

Kiku shrugged, but smiled softly as the ocean air surrounded him, "The sea…" he whispered. Herakles rubbed his arm and helped him out.

Feliciano raced passed them, the moment his feet touched the sand and soil. He began banging heavily on the door, to which the response he got was loud and angry, "Shut the hell up!"

The door swung open, "What the hell do you-‽" Lovino froze before pulling Feliciano into a tight hug, "Run away again and I'll kill you myself…" he whispered, worry laden in his voice.

Tears fell down Feliciano's face and he hugged him back just as tightly, "I'm sorry! I just went to visit big brother Francis and clear my head and then the dragon took me and I ran away from him and ended up in Extyr where Kiku found me!" he sobbed. He nuzzled Lovino and didn't want to ever let go. However, a strange nausea built up in him and he shoved Lovino back and promptly puked all over the front steps.

Lovino gagged and slapped a hand over his mouth, looking away from the mess on the front porch "Oh dear lord that's disgusting..." putting a hand on his stomach, he rubbed small circles onto his temporary womb "Ohhh please don't make mama puke... That's so gross..."

Feliciano began sobbing and holding his stomach, "I'm sorry!" he shouted.

Tessa ran over and got Lovino away before pulling Feliciano into the house.

Femke used a bucket of water to clean up the front step. She looked up, "You two can come inside. Feliciano's company right?" she said slowly, unsure if they could understand her.

Kiku and Herakles nodded, both having been imbued with a special magic all mermaids knew to translate. "Do you have somewhere I can rest my feet?" Femke nodded and led them to the living room, where Lovino's twins played.

Feliciano was taken to the kitchen when he continued to cry about how sorry he was to his brother.

Lovino shook his head and waved his brother off "I-It's fine, Feli... Just shut up and eat some bread or something"

He hiccupped and nibbled some bread Tessa had given him. He sniffled, "That's the first time that's happened to me ..." he whispered, "I've been hurting a lot lately..." he admitted to his brother.

The elder brother sat down in one of the chairs and rose an eyebrow "What kind of hurt...?" he asked tentatively.

Feliciano groaned and rubbed his belly, "Well, a lot of intense cramping ... hurt really badly and I couldn't sleep .. then the pain went away and I'm just sleepy all the time..." he pouted and laid his head down, "Now I'm throwing up? Luddy's going to be so upset with me because I didn't be careful with myself.."

The queen growled and brought his hands down onto the table with a loud bang "That son of a bitch! I'm going to gouge his fucking eyes out with a god damn spoon!"

Feliciano jumped, and tears wells up in his eyes, "I'm sorry!" he said, defensively, "I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry-y-y-y!" he began sobbing.

Tessa rubbed his back and gave Lovino a knowing look, "Let's take him to the medic before jumping to conclusions, Lovino..."

Growling, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair "Shut up Feliciano, and stop fucking crying." He sighed, giving a hopeless look to his mother.

The motherly woman rubbed Lovino's shoulder, "You don't need to be getting stressed right now… think of the baby…"

Lovino nodded and groaned, rubbing his belly where his third child waited.

Feliciano sniffled and played with his fingers, "Wh-why do I n-need to go to th-the medic...?" he whimpered lightly, "I-I'm fine! Not even s-sick anymore~! Probably just nervous ..."

Lovino growled softly "Feli, if you know what's good for you, you will shut up and come with me to the medic." standing from the table, he looked at Tessa "Can you watch the twins, mama? I'm taking him to the medic"

Feliciano nodded and got up trembling lightly. He stuck close to his brother.

Tessa smiled and nodded. She placed a hand on Feliciano's back, "Relax, it's not good for you to be stressed like this, either. It's the last thing you need. Good luck you two~!"

The Sverran queen grabbed Feliciano by his upper arm and proceeded to drag him out of the house "Come on you stupid blubbering idiot. Get in the carriage."

Feliciano nodded, doing as he'd been told. He climbed into the carriage and played around with his necklace. Staring at his lap, worriedly, the Illonian feared what his brother was going to do to him.

Sitting in the carriage, beside him, he closed the door and told the driver to take them to the town's medic "If you're pregnant... Fuck, how did you even get pregnant in the first place?"

This threw Feliciano off. His face went red as he looked up at his brother, "B-but there's no way I can be p-p-pregnant..." he covered his cheeks, "I haven't had any potions or anything like that and I'm n-not a merman ... and ... me and Luddy only did it a few times..!"

Lovino's face turned bright red "For the love of god! Feliciano! Shut up!" he cried as he put his hands over his face "I don't need to think of you and the potato fucker doing that sort of thing!"

Feliciano whimpered softly, "I'm sorry!" he pouted and curled up, ashamed he'd made his brother mad at him.

Sighing, Lovino rubbed the bridge of his nose "It's fine, I guess... Just don't say stupid things like that again"

The younger Illonian got nervous again when he spotted their destination. What if his brother was right? What if he was pregnant? He began to cry softly. It would make him happy, but Ludwig would be mad!

Once the carriage came to a stop, Lovino glanced at his brother "... Why are you crying...?"

Feliciano sniffled, "Because... Luddy is going to be mad at me again..."

Lovino hopped out of the carriage once it came to a complete stop "Why would he be mad? I thought you two were getting married."

"I'm constantly in pain and sick and if I really am with child... I don't know if he'll want me anymore! I don't know if Luddy wants kids.." he began sobbing.

Lovino just sighed as he headed into the clinic "Well if he decides to dump you, I'm going to arrest him then flay him alive with a dull rusty knife."

Feliciano squeaked but nodded. He walked inside and saw a man and woman sitting at a desk. The man looked up, "Your majesty... back so soon?"

Placing his hands on the desk, he leaned forward slightly "I need a pregnancy test." he stated simply.

The medic frowned, confused, but grabbed the vial, "Here you go. You know what to do ..." he licked his lips.

Feliciano felt his face grow warm and he felt dizzy at the thought of taking the test.

Grabbing Feliciano's hand, he pulled his dagger from its little hiding spot and very swiftly sliced open the pad of his brother's finger. Popping the cork on the vial, he scraped some of his brother's blood into the little tube before placing the cork back in and starting to shake it "If this thing turns blue I swear to god, Feli, you are going to be in so much shit."

Feliciano hissed in pain and tears flowed down his face. He bit his lip and stared at the clear pinkish solution. His heart beat wildly as the vial turned blue.

Lovino stared at the vial for a moment before crushing it in his hand, not even bothering to care that glass just embedded itself in his palm "Get it the carriage."


	21. Chapter 21

Kiku hissed in pain as his large belly and swollen ankles and back pain were starting to get at him. His husband followed the blonde woman into the living room of the royal family's beach house. He was glad to finally be able to rest. His mind also wandered to the fact that soon, they would have their precious bundle. Thankful the beach house was so close to the sea, Kiku could rest comfortably knowing at any moment, he would be able to escape the land and relax out in the salty water he missed so much.

Herakles helped him to sit down. The merman thanked him softly and looked around. There was a four year old, playing with a ball on the floor in the corner and the blonde sat down to watch over him while the child's mother was busy.

The child looked up. He blinked, "Oh! Did you swallow a baby, too! Like mama?" he got up to stare at the man.

Kiku could only blink and look down at the young child "Did I... swallow a baby..?" glancing at Herakles for a moment and nodded softly "Yes, little one. I suppose I did." he said with a small smile. He was certain that's what the child's parents told him to explain away pregnancy.

Herakles chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair, "Too cute…" he rested his head on Kiku's, "I can't wait for ours..." he whispered, as the boy smiled and placed his hands to his husband's belly.

"Baby? Can you hear me? My name is Tristán~!" he said.

Kiku smiled and put his hand on Tristán's back "I think the baby can hear you, young Highness." Feliciano had told him about this child. It was one of the young royals of this land, belonging to that of Feliciano's brother.

Tristán smiled happily and rubbed the belly lightly, "Your baby is already that big and strong‽" he asked, referring, once again, to a talk his parents had given him when he's talked to them about his future brother or sister, "Mama said they stay in there for a loooong time..."

Kiku chuckled quietly and nodded "Your mama is very smart, little one. Babies do have to stay in there for a long time to grow and stay safe until they're ready to come out and meet the ones who love them more than anything."

Tristán smiled, "So you love your baby? I don't know if I'll like my new brother or sister too much..."

Kiku just frowned softly "What makes you say that, young prince?"

Tristán sighed, "Cause mama will love the new baby more than me..."

Tessa over heard, as she walked into the living room once her son had taken his brother into town, and giggled softly. Daan had said the same thing before Femke was born.

Running his fingers through Tristán's hair, he chuckled low in his throat "He's not going to love the new baby more than you. He'll love you all the same."

Tristan smiled, "You think so‽" he sounded genuinely excited, his hazel eyes lighting up with joy.

Kiku just nodded and patted the top of his head "I know so."

Sverran's crowned prince looked happy and hugged Kiku's belly the best he could. He then left Kiku's side having decided to go play again.

Herakles chuckled and leaned down to Kiku's ear, "You're going to be a fabulous mother~" he leaned up and yawned lightly.

Kiku blushed slightly "P-please do not say such things in public, Herakles... It's embarrassing..."

The man chuckled and kissed the top of his head, "I apologize..." he stretched a bit, "Do you need anything...? I believe I'm going to take a nap..."

Kiku shook his head slightly "I'm alright. Just a little tired." Herakles nodded and sat down on a couch close by to sleep.

The merman hummed softly and closed his eyes, deciding to nap as well. It wasn't long before he fell asleep to the laughter of the young Sverran prince.

"From now on, you'll be taking daily vitamins and eating healthier, as well as giving up drinking any sort of alcohol. Understand?" Lovino asked, glancing at his brother while he picked glass out of his hand. Feliciano trembled and nodded. He curled up, realizing now that blue meant he was carrying Ludwig's child. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he bit his lip.

"And when we get back to the house, I want you to go lie down in your room, okay? I'm going to send a letter to Antonio telling him that he and the stupid potato need to come down here as soon as possible." he said, ripping up his shirt and wrapping the strip around his hand to stop the bleeding.

Feliciano looked at him, "B-but Luddy's busy saving the kingdom and the lady's babies..." he couldn't pull Ludwig away to come 'rescue' him again. However, he was exhausted. Blushing dark red, he placed a hand on his belly and silently wondered whether it would be a boy or a girl.

"Well they can do it here, can't they‽" he snapped, glaring at his brother "If he wishes to live, he will be here to support you and the baby!" tying the cloth tight, he rested his chin in his un-wounded hand and stared out the window.

Feliciano winced and nodded.

The little dragon Elizabeth had given Feliciano decided that now was the perfect time to poke her little head out of the Illonian's shirt and nibble on his cheek, giving him a cute little dragon kiss.

He laughed lightly and petted Snow on the head, "Hey~" he cooed at her softly. Feliciano was glad Elizabeth had let him borrow the little dragon for protection. He really needed her. Snow purred softly and nuzzled against his cheek, thankful for the warmth his body provided her.

Lovino shrieked and pressed himself back against his seat "What the fucking hell, Feli! What is that thing‽"

The younger brother smiled but jumped when his brother freaked out. He held Snow against his body, "It's a snow dragon ... Miss Elizabeth gave her to me while I'm down here so she could protect me and Kiku while Miss Elizabeth gets her kids back..." he explained.

Lovino frowned and glared at the scaly little thing "Feli... I've seen snow Dragons... Their babies are bigger than I am. I don't believe that it's a dragon. Looks like an over grown lizard to me."

Feliciano hummed softly and ran fingers down her scales, "Well, she's still pretty and smart." he said, his stomach turning when he once again thought about telling Ludwig. His stomach turned at the thought of telling Kiku! He'd forgotten he'd have to tell him, too... He bit his lip and nuzzled his face against Snow.

Snow cooed softly and licked the tip of his nose while cuddling against him, trying to give him any sort of comfort she could.

Feliciano giggled and definitely found her comforting. His stomach stopped twisting and he dozed off, holding her against him, under his shirt.

Lovino just frowned and huffed "Fine. She can stay." Though, he was wary about letting that thing near his children.

Soon, the carriage pulled back into the beach house and Feliciano was startled awake. He sleepily got out of the carriage and stumbled into the house, rubbing his eyes.

Lovino slid out of the carriage and went inside after his brother, slamming the door behind himself.

Tessa looked at Lovino, "So...?" she asked with worried eyes.

"He's pregnant..." sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair and tried his best to relax. He knew stress was bad for the baby he was carrying "Find Ariana and tell her to come to me. I'll be in my room…" he said before heading upstairs to relax before he hurt himself and his unborn child.

Tessa winced slightly and looked at the Illonian wandering to the living room to sit down. She nodded and went to locate the phoenix. When found, she brought her to Lovino's room. "Wouldn't he know beforehand that he was...? It's not exactly easy being male and just getting pregnant without knowing..." she said, sitting down on the edge of Lovino's bed.

Lovino looked up from his desk and sighed, sealing the letter to Antonio. He held it out to the phoenix and let her clamp it safely in her beak before he opened the window so she could take flight "I don't know, mama... This is Feli we're talking about, so he probably ate something really stupid and it had the same affect the potions do."

The woman sighed, "We may have to have Lukas look him over to see if his body can even handle carrying the child full term ..." she said grimly, "We don't know what he did to get pregnant so we don't know how often he needs to do it to keep it going..."

Sverran's queen just nodded and watched as Ariana flew off toward the castle "Yeah... Is he still in town?

Tessa nodded, "He stayed behind with Tino to collect some ingredients... I think we're lucky because they're leaving tomorrow."

"Can you go into town and find them, mama? They should check out Feli as soon as possible... If there's a risk of him losing his life because of the baby, I want to know" he said, looking over at his adoptive mother.

Tessa nodded and kissed his forehead, "We'll make sure he stays safe." she immediately went downstairs to take a carriage into town to find Lukas and Tino.

Lovino nodded and watched her as she left "Thanks, mama..."

Feliciano lied down on the couch, on the other end of the sleeping Herakles and stared at the wall. He twisted the hem of his shirt in his hand and chewed his lips, dreading confronting Ludwig about this.

Kiku waddled into the room, nibbling on a piece of dried sea weed, "Feliciano? Is something wrong?"

Feliciano looked at him, "I'm pregnant..." he muttered, still reeling from the news. He rubbed his belly and wondered about the baby inside him. Would they be a blond or a coppery haired child?

Kiku could only blink and sit himself down in a chair "But how? I did not see you take any potions recently..."

Feliciano shrugged, "I don't know... trying to figure out what could have gone wrong ... I don't think I've had any potions or anything and the only thing I've eaten that I usually don't is that candy I found .."

Kiku raised an eyebrow "Candy? What did it look like?" He eyed him carefully. Eating anything strange was not good and he felt a fear in his heart that he knew what Feliciano had eaten. That was why some of his vitamins were missing...

Feli nibbled his lower lip and looked off to the side "I found it in a little bag in your room after you left me alone on the ferry ship… I thought it was for everyone… I'm sorry, Kiku!"

The merman sighed, "That is what I was afraid of. Those weren't candy ... they are a special vitamin I mixed to ensure my pregnancy was a smooth one. It must have assumed your body was lacking and set you up for giving birth... which means I'll have to make more for you to continue taking... that is, if you are still interested in having this baby..."

Feliciano's eyes widened and he sat upright, staring at the merman "Not candy...?" whimpering softly, he placed his hands against his stomach and looked down where he knew his baby was growing "I... I don't know... I'll have to talk to Luddy..." he murmured softly.

Kiku shook his head, "No, it was not. Have you eaten any today?" he asked softly. He was now worried for his friend. Human males weren't equipped for children and he worried about his body and the stress.

Feliciano just shook his head "No... Why? Should I have eaten some?"

Grabbing a little bag on his hip, he grabbed one, "Yes. At least once a day." he explained before finishing his snack.

The Illonian nodded and looked at the small candy like object in his friend's hand "Okay..." he looked down at his stomach, then to the thing that caused all of this. He brought it to his lips and wondered what Ludwig would think when he saw him. His fingers trembled and he looked at Kiku before putting the vitamin into his mouth and chewing the flaky yet chewy 'candy'.

Kiku smiled softly. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest. Maybe soon he would talk to the queen or someone else about getting a room to actually lie down and sleep on. He could almost feel a soft bed beneath him to help soothe the pain he felt in his back and legs.


	22. Chapter 22

Antonio sat with Ludwig and Elizabeth in the map room of his castle. Ludwig was trying his best to give Antonio an exact location of the ice palace, but it was difficult with the difference in maps Evenna had versus the outdated one Antonio was using of Ryven.

There wasn't a lot there to use.

"Majesty, please, I'm telling you it might be in this general area…"

Antonio growled, "I don't need 'general', I need precise… you said you were there…"

Ludwig frowned, "I was… however, Evenna has been mapping that territory for years now… the map his majesty used was a lot more detailed. I apologize, but without a better map with landmarks on it, I can't pinpoint and exact location without physically taking you to Ryven."

The Sverran king groaned and leaned back, "And you're sure you've never been to the palace… not even once…?" he looked to Elizabeth.

She shook her head, "I told you, majesty, I have not."

He sighed and jumped startled when Ariana squawked and began clawing at the window to the map room. Normally she would only sit on the ledge and tap at the window until someone opened it for her. But now, she implied this was urgent so she was doing everything she could to get inside.

Antonio jumped up and opened the window, assuming the worst from him Lovino. His heart raced and he prayed nothing had happened to them while he was out here and they were down south. The only reason he was here and they were there was to protect them – much like Francis currently was in hiding to keep his daughter safe.

He read over the note.

Antonio, get to the beach house as soon as possible. And bring the blond jackass with you. I need to have a word with him.

Love, Lovino xoxo

P.S. Plan on staying here until everything's been sorted out. I'll be dammed if you miss another day of my pregnancy, stupid bastard.

Ludwig shifted uncomfortably and stared at him as the king read over the note again and again, joy spreading across his face, "I can't believe it! I get to stay with them after all~! Pack your things, we leave for the beach house immediately!" he said, hurrying from the map room to his own to pack his bags.

The knight walked out to the carriage where the king already was waiting impatiently. He put his things into the back and looked back as Elizabeth walked out, sporting a dress now, rather than Lovino's clothing.

Antonio smiled, "Good~! Let's hurry!"

They climbed into the carriage and the driver took off quickly down the road.

The three of them sat in uncomfortable silence for a little bit.

"Highness…" Elizabeth started, "If you don't mind my asking, why are we heading out?"

He looked at her with a wide smiled, "The queen requested us at the beach house. He was particularly interested in talking with Ludwig." The king said, looking at the Gartyrarren.

Ludwig paled lightly. He knew… he just knew, Lovino had found out about Feliciano being sick. He was in so much trouble for letting illness befall the queen's brother.

Elizabeth raised a fine blond eyebrow "Oh? Is that so?" glancing at Ludwig, she smirked and pulled a ribbon from her sleeve "I'd suggest that when you talk with the Queen, stay still and take the beating you're given~" she purred, tying her hair up in a ponytail with the ribbon.

Ludwig groaned slightly and remembered when he'd pissed the queen off by touching the twins. He swore his jaw hurt for weeks and even now, when he thought about Lovino, the pain welled up again.

Elizabeth just snorted and crossed one leg over the other before glancing out the window "I don't envy you, Ludwig. I really don't…"

Ludwig buried his face into his hands and remained that way until the carriage finally pulled up to the beach house, a few hours later.

Antonio jumped from the carriage and ran inside, "Lovi~‽"

However, Ludwig was a bit more hesitant. He and Elizabeth slowly got out, both uncomfortable to be here. Ludwig slowly walked inside, fearing bumping into Lovino. "Feli…?"

Feliciano was sitting on the couch, looking a bit distraught. "L-Ludwig!" he said, standing up and looking toward the front door "C-Can we talk...?" he asked softly, fiddling with his shirt.

Ludwig looked at him and smiled warmly, having missed him, "Of course." he said walking over, "What is it... and why do I have a feeling this is why your brother is mad at me... please tell me he's not making you break off the engagement..." he frowned. Not when he'd just gotten used to the idea of marrying him.

Feliciano shook his head and grabbed Ludwig's hand, lacing their fingers together "No.. He's not making me break it off..." biting his lower lip, he looked around for some place quiet they could go "Let's go to the beach."

Ludwig nodded, now even more confused. If Lovino wasn't forcing them apart, what could it possibly be? He walked with him out to the sandy beach.

Walking out to the beach, Feliciano could feel his nervousness growing higher and higher "Luddy..." he whimpered, looking up at the tall blond with tears in his eyes "I-I'm sorry..."

Ludwig looked worried. He cupped Feliciano's cheek and stared at him, "Why are you sorry? What's going on? Is it because you're sick...?" he was now worried Feliciano was going to die.

Feliciano let out a strangled sob and nodded "I-I'm not sick, Luddy... I-I'm pregnant!" he wailed, tears starting to flow down his cheeks.

Ludwig stared at him, his face turning red. "P-pregnant..? Like with a baby...?" his mind blanked, he began feeling dizzy, finding it harder and harder to breath. Soon after, he blacked out, falling to the sand.

Feliciano shrieked and dropped to his knees "Luddy! Luddy open your eyes!" he whimpered, grabbing onto his fiancé's shirt and shaking him.

The knight finally came to and looked at Feliciano. His vision cleared and he sat up, "Feliciano..?" he looked at him and pulled him into his lap, "Are you really pregnant..? Are you telling me that our child is in your belly?" he asked, his voice low and steady.

Feliciano nodded and whimpered softly "Yes... Our baby..." nibbling his lower lip, he curled in a bit tighter on himself "I-If you don't want the baby, I can get rid of it..."

Ludwig frowned and wrapped his arms around Feliciano tightly, "Don't you ever say something like that again!" he said sternly, "Our baby..." he whispered, "I've always wanting to be a father..." he said softly, his body numb with shock.

The Illonian yelped and blinked, curling up against his chest "S-sorry... So you're not mad...?" he asked softly, glancing up at Ludwig.

Rubbing his back, he smiled, "Why would I be mad!?" he pulled back to kiss him softly, "I was sure I wouldn't even be able to have kids because you're male…" he said. He held him closely and rocked him back and forth.

Feliciano just smiled and wrapped his arms around his shoulders "I'm so happy!"

Ludwig stared out to the water, a soft smile soon growing bigger and bigger on his face. He hugged him back, "I am too..." he whispered, holding him tight, "I'm also glad you're not really sick." he said.

Feliciano smiled and nuzzled into his future husband's cheek "I'll still be sick for a while... But everything I go through will be rewarded in the end~"

Ludwig nodded, "Yes... we will be rewarded." he heart beat heavily in his chest and he pressed a hand to Feliciano's belly, "But how... how did this happen?"

Feliciano nibbled his lower lip and looked to the side "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell, Kiku had these little green things at his house and I thought they were candy so I ate a bunch but it turns out it's a special vitamin that helps mermen prepare their body and keep it healthy for carrying a baby..."

Frowning, he pinched Feliciano's nose softly, "That's what you were eating?" he grinned, "I thought you knew better than to eat strange things!" he let go of his fiancé's nose and held him close. He was secretly extremely happy Feliciano had eaten them, but at the same time he's at least wanted to be married before he thought about kids. He still didn't even have a job.

He squeaked and wrinkled his nose "Luddy~" he whined, looking up at the blond "That was mean!"

Ludwig chuckled softly, "What's mean is how much you've had me worried today." he said. He let out a soft sigh, "I do believe it's almost time for me to go talk to your brother... and ask the king for a job with his guard... if I'm going to support you and our baby, I'll need one..."

Feliciano hummed softly and nuzzled into Ludwig's throat "But that means if Sverran goes to war, you'll be forced to go to battle... I don't want to lose you" he whimpered, clinging to the blond tighter.

Ludwig sighed softly, "Fighting is all I know how to do. I barely know how to show you proper affection." He rested his hand on Feliciano's leg.

Feliciano just whimpered softly and sniffled "I don't care! I don't want to find out through my brother that you're dead and our baby won't have a papa!"

Ludwig sighed, "Feliciano, you have to understand. I'm not good at anything else. I will get a job as a guard, or really any position I can get. Finding a job and getting a place for you and I to live is most important." he stated. "I won't die on you or the baby."

Feliciano hiccuped and wiped at his face "P-Promise...?" he asked softly.

Ludwig nodded, "I promise." he held up his pinky, "I promise I will not die and leave you and the baby alone ..." he offered a smile, but wasn't sure how well he was going to be able to keep that promise since he'd be going to face the Ice dragon, Ivan, again.

Sniffing, he linked his pinky with Ludwig's and nodded softly "O-Okay.."

Ludwig then laced his fingers with Feliciano's and kissed him softly, "I ... I love you..." he muttered, his face going red.

Feliciano smiled and wrapped his arms around Ludwig's shoulders "I love you too~" he cooed, nuzzling against his cheek.

Tessa walked out to the beach, "Lovino wishes to see you two now." he said waiting for them.

Ludwig's heart began to race, "Let's go." he sighed, waiting for Feliciano to stand so he could push off the ground. His heart felt like it would leap out of his body.

Feliciano nibbled his lower lip and whimpered softly, sliding off of Ludwig's lap "Is Lovino mad, miss Tessa...?"

Tessa sighed softly, "At this moment, no, it doesn't seem like it, but judging from the blood all over his hand, I'd say don't get your hopes up..."

Ludwig bit his lip and urged his fiancé to start walking, "It'll be okay."

Feliciano's eyes widened almost instantly "Lovi's hurt? What happened?" stumbling a bit from the initial nudge, he quickly regained his balance and headed inside the house and up to his brother's bedroom "Lovi?" he asked softly, peeking his head in.

Ludwig was not far behind him. When he entered the room and bit his lip, nervously.

Lovino waved him in before looking at the two elves "Tino, Lukas, this is my brother, Feliciano.

Lukas, an elf, looked at the copper haired man, "I see. Lukas Køhler."

Tino, also an elf, smiled as him, waving, "Tino Oxenstierna."

Lovino glared at Ludwig and let a low growl tumble from his lips before grabbing onto Feliciano's arm and pulling him closer "They're here to check you over and make sure your pregnancy will be smooth and, hopefully, complication free."

Feliciano blinked and perked up a bit, smiling at the two elves "Hello~! It's nice to meet you~"

Ludwig swallowed hard and licked his lips. His heart was racing. He'd never forgive himself if something would possibly go wrong.

Lukas stepped forward, "Lie down." he grabbed a small case from Tino.

Nodding, the younger Illonian brother laid himself down on his brother's bed with his head resting against the pillows "Ve..."

Lovino walked over to his husband and grabbed onto Antonio's hand, lacing their fingers together.

Lukas lifted Feliciano's shirt and pressed into his belly, ignoring the Illonian flinching and whining about cold hands. "There is a hardness in there... he surely has the uterus ... no unusual coloring or bruising." he grabbed several vial labeled in his language and took blood samples. Each one did different things, "As far as I can tell, he's fine. This pregnancy will run as smoothly as possible." he said, "Send me a letter in his eighth month and I'll come prepare him for birth."

Feliciano smiled when the elf was done and pulled his shirt back down.

Lovino watched the two for a moment before he just nodded "Thanks, Lukas. I'll make sure of it." He grabbed Antonio's hand and pulled him out to go find the children.

Lukas nodded and said his goodbyes before leaving, starting to feel anxious about getting home to Mathias and their own baby which he left with his husband for the first time.

After the others left, Feliciano slid off the bed to walk over to his fiancé, "Ludwig?" he asked, looking up at him.

Ludwig felt lightheaded and dizzy again. This was really happening. He smiled, a bit dazed. The man wrapped his arms around Feliciano, "We're having a baby..." he whispered.

The Illonian smiled and laughed lightly "Yeah~ Our very own baby~" he cooed, resting his head against Ludwig's strong chest.

Ludwig smiled warmly and kissed his head.

Feliciano yawned and rubbed at his eyes "I'm sleepy..."

The knight nodded and picked him up, "I'll take you to a bed to sleep." he said, leaving the room to find somewhere open for him and his fiancé.

Yawning again, Feliciano wrapped his arms around Ludwig's shoulders and nuzzled against his throat, his eyes already starting to close.

Ludwig smiled softly and placed Feliciano onto a bed in a room he found. He crawled into it next to him.

Feliciano smiled tiredly and curled into Ludwig's chest "Ve~ good night~"

"Good night…" Ludwig replied, before closing his eyes to rest. He placed his palm against Feliciano's still flat belly and smiled softly again, knowing there was a small heartbeat underneath just waiting to come out into the world to two proud parents.


End file.
